Note: Intro -- Preface -- Contents -- About the Editors -- 1: Cyanobacteria in Cold Ecosystem: Tolerance and Adaptation -- 1.1 Introduction -- 1.2 Significance of Cold Ecosystem -- 1.3 Ecology and Biogeochemistry of Cyanobacteria -- 1.3.1 Cryptic Niches -- 1.3.2 Hypoliths -- 1.3.3 Endoliths -- 1.3.4 Cryoconites -- 1.3.5 Aquatic Habitats -- 1.4 Ecophysiology of Polar Cyanobacteria and Functional Role of Arctic and Antarctic Cyanobacteria -- 1.5 Polar Region: Extreme Environmental Parameters and Stress Factors -- 1.6 Polar Cyanobacteria: Response to Various Stress Factors -- 1.6.1 General Mechanism of Adaptation -- 1.6.2 Stress Avoidance -- 1.6.3 Stress Tolerance -- 1.6.4 Dormant Cell Formation -- 1.6.5 Morphological Structures -- 1.6.6 Consortia -- 1.6.7 Low Temperature -- 1.6.8 Temperature Perception -- 1.6.9 Lipids -- 1.6.10 Proteins/Enzymes -- 1.6.11 Freeze/Melting Cycles -- 1.6.12 Antifreeze Proteins -- 1.6.13 Compatible Solutes and Cryoprotectants -- 1.6.14 Ice Nucleation Proteins -- 1.6.15 Dessication -- 1.6.16 Extracellular Envelopes -- 1.6.17 Water Stress Proteins -- 1.6.18 Salinity -- 1.6.19 Ionic Regulation -- 1.6.20 Osmotic Regulation -- 1.6.21 Irradiance (PAR) and Ultraviolet Radiation (UVR) -- 1.6.22 Photosynthesis and Photoinhibition at Low Temperature -- 1.6.23 Screening Compounds -- 1.6.24 Antioxidants -- 1.6.25 Survival Strategies: Insight from Metagenomics -- 1.6.26 Subzero Temperature Effect -- 1.7 Impact of Rise in Global Temperature on Polar Cyanobacteria -- 1.7.1 Nitrogen Cycling -- 1.7.2 Carbon Cycling -- 1.8 Conclusion -- References -- 2: Cold-Adapted Fungi: Evaluation and Comparison of Their Habitats, Molecular Adaptations and Industrial Applications -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Natural Habitats and Their Occurrence -- 2.3 Temperature Range -- 2.4 Cold Adaptations in Fungi: Definition -- 2.5 Cold-Adapted Fungi: A Background. , 2.6 Molecular Adaptations -- 2.7 The Arctic -- 2.8 The Antarctic -- 2.9 Nonpolar Regions -- 2.10 Arctic Fungi -- 2.10.1 Plant-Associated and Free-Living Fungi of Arctic Soils -- 2.10.2 Glacial Ice -- 2.10.3 Marine Fungi from the Arctic -- 2.11 Antarctic Fungi -- 2.11.1 Soils -- 2.11.2 Antarctic Permafrost -- 2.11.3 Endolithic Communities -- 2.12 Harmful Effects in Plants, Animals and Humans -- 2.13 Applications of Fungi in Industry -- 2.13.1 Cold-Active Enzymes -- 2.13.1.1 Proteases -- 2.13.1.2 Chitinases -- 2.13.1.3 Cellulases and Pectinases -- 2.13.1.4 Amylases -- 2.13.1.5 Xylanases -- 2.13.1.6 Lipolytic Enzymes -- 2.13.2 Pharmaceutical Products -- 2.13.3 Bioremediation -- 2.13.4 Pigment Production -- 2.14 Agriculture -- 2.15 Conclusion -- References -- 3: Microbial Life in Cold Regions of the Deep Sea -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 Deep Sea as a Microbial Habitat -- 3.2.1 With Low Temperature -- 3.2.2 With High Pressure -- 3.3 Microbial Diversity in Deep Sea -- 3.4 Microbial Adaptations at Deep Sea -- 3.4.1 Low-Temperature Adaptations -- 3.4.1.1 Maintenance of Membrane Structure by the Generation of Unsaturated Fatty Acids -- 3.4.1.2 Cold-Shock Proteins (CSP) -- Functions of Cold-Shock Proteins -- 3.4.1.3 Viable but Non-Culturable Cell (VBNC) -- Mechanism of VBNC Formation -- 3.4.1.4 Antifreeze Proteins -- Mechanism of AFP -- 3.4.1.5 Adaptation Mechanism of Psychrophilic Enzymes -- 3.4.1.6 Piezophiles/Barophiles -- 3.4.2 Adaptation Mechanism of Piezophiles (High-Pressure Adaptations) -- 3.4.2.1 Membrane Lipid Adaptation -- 3.4.2.2 Outer Membrane Porins -- 3.4.2.3 Membrane Transport -- 3.4.2.4 Respiratory Chain -- 3.4.2.5 Motility Under High Pressure -- 3.4.2.6 Enzymes Adaptations Under High Pressure -- Low Stability -- High Compressibility -- High Absolute Activity -- High Relative Activity at High Pressures. , 3.5 Microbial Nutrition and Metabolism in Deep Sea -- 3.5.1 Chemistry of Deep Sea -- 3.5.2 Microbial Metabolism in Deep Sea -- 3.6 Conclusion -- References -- 4: Adaptation to Cold Environment: The Survival Strategy of Psychrophiles -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 Ecological Adaptability of Psychrophiles -- 4.3 Environmental Adaptability of Psychrophiles -- 4.3.1 Membrane Fluidity -- 4.3.2 Cold-Shock and Heat-Shock Responses -- 4.3.3 Antifreeze Proteins (AFPs) -- 4.3.4 Cryoprotectants -- 4.3.5 Cold-Adapted Enzymes -- 4.3.6 Carotenoid Pigments -- 4.3.7 Protein Folding in Psychrophiles -- 4.3.7.1 Marine Environment -- 4.3.7.2 Non-marine Environment -- 4.3.7.3 Glacier Environment -- 4.4 Adaptation to Cold Habitat -- 4.4.1 Morphological Features -- 4.4.2 Molecular Aspects -- 4.4.3 Other Special Features -- 4.5 RandD Effort Innovation Technologies to Find Specific Adaptations -- 4.6 Conclusion -- References -- 5: Enzymatic Behaviour of Cold Adapted Microbes -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 Psychrophillic Enzymes -- 5.2.1 Cold Adapted Activity -- 5.2.1.1 Inactivation and Unfolding -- 5.2.1.2 Active Site Architecture -- 5.2.1.3 Active Site Dynamics -- 5.2.1.4 Adaptive Drift and Adaptive Optimization of Substrate Affinity -- 5.2.1.5 Comparative Structural Analysis of Extremophiles -- 5.2.1.6 Composition of Amino Acids -- 5.2.1.7 Secondary Structural Elements -- 5.2.1.8 Comparative Proteome Analysis -- 5.2.1.9 Amino Acid Substitution Pattern -- 5.3 Kinetics and Energetics of Cold Activity -- 5.4 Conformational Stability -- 5.4.1 Structural Origin of Low Stability -- 5.5 Folding Funnel Model of Cold Active Enzymes -- 5.6 Psychrophillic Enzymes in Biotechnology -- 5.6.1 Heat Lability in Molecular Biology -- 5.6.2 Application of Cold Active Enzymes for Manufacturing Chemicals and Wastewater Treatment -- 5.6.3 Cold Active Enzymes Used in the Food Industry. , 5.7 Future Prospects -- 5.8 Conclusion -- References -- 6: An Overview of Survival Strategies of Psychrophiles and Their Applications -- 6.1 Introduction -- 6.2 Types of Extremophiles -- 6.2.1 Thermophiles -- 6.2.2 Psychrophiles -- 6.2.3 Acidophiles -- 6.2.4 Alkaliphiles -- 6.2.5 Halophiles -- 6.2.6 Piezophiles -- 6.3 Survival Strategies Adapted by Psychrophiles -- 6.3.1 Cell Membrane Fluidity -- 6.3.2 Antifreeze Proteins (AFPs) -- 6.3.3 Cold Shock Proteins -- 6.4 Applications of Cold Adapted Microbes -- 6.4.1 Psychrophilic Enzymes in Different Industries -- 6.4.2 Use of Psychrophilic Microorganisms in Bioremediation -- 6.4.3 Role of Psychrophiles in Medicine and Pharmaceuticals -- 6.4.4 Role of Psychrophiles in Domestic Purposes -- 6.4.5 Application of Psychrophiles in Textile-Based Industries -- 6.5 Psychrophiles Used in Fine Chemical Synthesis -- 6.6 Role of Psychrophiles in Agriculture -- 6.7 Conclusion and Future Prospectives -- References -- 7: Microbial Genes Responsible for Cold Adaptation -- 7.1 Introduction -- 7.2 Cold-Adapted Microorganisms -- 7.2.1 Diversity of Cold-Adapted Microorganisms -- 7.2.2 Strategies for Cold Adaptation -- 7.3 Cold Adaptation Genes -- 7.3.1 Cold Shock Response -- 7.3.1.1 Cold Shock Response in E. coli -- 7.3.1.2 Cold Shock Response in B. subtilis -- 7.3.1.3 Cold Shock Response in Psychrotrophs and Psychrophiles -- 7.3.2 Cold Acclimation Proteins -- 7.4 Genomic Studies -- 7.4.1 Psychrotrophic Microorganisms -- 7.4.2 Microbial Physiological Adaptations -- 7.4.3 Cell Membrane Modulation -- 7.4.4 Osmoprotection and Cryoprotection: Compatible Solutes -- 7.4.5 Freeze Protection -- 7.4.6 Extracellular Compounds -- 7.4.7 Transport and Diffusion -- 7.4.8 RNA/DNA Secondary Structure -- 7.4.9 Substrate Oxidation -- 7.5 Conclusion -- References -- 8: Survival Strategies in Cold-Adapted Microorganisms -- 8.1 Introductions. , 8.2 Survival Strategies of Cold-Adapted Microorganisms: Initial Studies -- 8.2.1 Physiological Adaptations Exhibited by Cold-Adapted Microorganisms -- 8.2.2 Structural Alterations of Proteins/Enzymes in Cold-Adapted Microorganisms -- 8.2.3 Alterations Ensuring Biomembrane Fluidity in Cold-Adapted Microorganism -- 8.2.4 Other Subtle Adaptations Exhibited by Cold-Adapted Microorganisms -- 8.2.5 Metagenomics- and Genomics-Based Studies of Cold-Adapted Microorganisms -- 8.3 Systems Biology Studies of Cold-Adapted Microorganisms -- 8.3.1 Comparative Genomic Studies of Cold-Adapted Microorganisms -- 8.3.2 Transcriptomics Studies of Cold-Adapted Microorganisms -- 8.3.3 Proteomics Studies of Cold-Adapted Microorganisms -- 8.4 Conclusion and Future Prospects -- References -- 9: Microbial Adaptations Under Low Temperature -- 9.1 Introduction -- 9.2 Microbial Adaptations Under Low Temperature -- 9.2.1 Sensing the Temperature -- 9.2.2 Structural Adaptation of Enzymes -- 9.2.3 Membrane Fluidity -- 9.2.4 Metabolism at Low Temperatures -- 9.2.5 Heat-Shock Proteins -- 9.2.6 Cold-Shock Proteins -- 9.2.7 Cryoprotectants -- 9.2.8 Antifreeze Proteins -- 9.3 Future Prospects -- References -- 10: Molecular Mechanisms of Cold-Adapted Microorganisms -- 10.1 Introduction -- 10.2 Cold-Adapted Enzymes -- 10.3 Modifications in Transcription and Translation -- 10.4 Role of Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) -- 10.5 Cryoprotectant and Cold-Shock Proteins -- 10.6 Role of RNA Degradosome -- 10.7 Changes in Membrane Fluidity -- 10.8 Fatty Acid Desaturation -- 10.9 Branching of Fatty Acids -- 10.10 Cis- and Trans-Fatty Acids -- 10.11 Amino Acid: Composition and Length Variation -- 10.12 Modifications at Protein-Folding Stage -- 10.12.1 Translation -- 10.12.2 Folding Assistance -- 10.13 Conclusion -- References. , 11: Microbe-Mediated Plant Functional Traits and Stress Tolerance: The Multi-Omics Approaches.