1;Preface;5 2;Contents;7 3;Contributors;10 4;Boundary Conditions for Microbial Life at Low Temperatures;15 4.1;The Climate of Snow and Ice as Boundary Condition for Microbial Life;16 4.1.1;1.1 The source of energy: solar radiation;16 4.1.2;1.2 Distribution of energy: the energy balance of snow and ice;18 4.1.3;1.3 Air temperature: effects of altitude and latitude;19 4.1.4;1.4 Atmospheric humidity and precipitation;21 4.1.5;1.5 The cryosphere: a matrix for life;22 4.1.6;1.6 Liquid water in the cryosphere;24 4.1.7;1.7 Hot spots in the ice;26 4.1.8;1.8 Conclusions;27 4.1.9;References;27 4.2;Limits for Microbial Life at Subzero Temperatures;29 4.2.1;2.1 Introduction;29 4.2.2;2.2 Physical chemical effects of low temperatures;30 4.2.3;2.2.1 Liquid water;30 4.2.4;2.2.2 Reaction rates;32 4.2.5;2.2.3 Molecular stability;33 4.2.6;2.3 Activity of microorganisms at subzero temperatures;34 4.2.7;2.4 Conclusions;37 4.2.8;References;38 5;Microbial Diversity in Cold Ecosystems;41 5.1;Bacteria in Snow and Glacier Ice;42 5.1.1;3.1 Introduction;42 5.1.2;3.2 Characteristics of snow and glacier ice as microbial habitats;43 5.1.3;3.3 History of detection of microorganisms in glacier ice and snow;45 5.1.4;3.4 Trapped and dormant or actively metabolizing?;45 5.1.5;3.5 Methods for microbial analysis of snow and glacier ice 3.5.1 Sampling and decontamination methods;46 5.1.6;3.5.2 Methods for enumeration and morphological characterization;46 5.1.7;3.5.3 Culture independent methods;47 5.1.8;3.5.4 Cultivation methods;48 5.1.9;3.6 Diversity of bacteria in glacier ice;49 5.1.10;3.6.1 Morphological diversity and size of glacier ice bacteria;49 5.1.11;3.6.2 Bacterial diversity detected by culture independent methods;51 5.1.12;3.6.3 Recovery and characteristics of bacterial isolates from glacier ice;51 5.1.13;3.7 How different are bacteria in glacier ice and cryoconite holes?;53 5.1.14;3.8 Diversity of bacteria in snow;54 5.1.15;3.9 Novel bacterial isolates from glacier ice and snow;55 5.1.16;3.10 Functional diversity and microbial activity in glacier ice and snow;56 5.1.17;3.11 Conclusions;58 5.1.18;References;58 5.2;Bacteria in Subglacial Environments;62 5.2.1;4.1 Introduction;62 5.2.2;4.2 Liquid water in subglacial environments 4.2.1 Water and life;63 5.2.3;4.2.2 Liquid water in Arctic and Alpine subglacial environments;64 5.2.4;4.2.3 Discovery of subglacial water beneath Antarctica's ice sheets;64 5.2.5;4.2.4 Liquid water under the Greenland ice sheet;65 5.2.6;4.3 Subglacial lakes 4.3.1 Antarctic subglacial lakes;65 5.2.7;4.3.2 Subglacial Lake Vostok;66 5.2.8;4.3.3 Sampling Antarctic subglacial lakes;67 5.2.9;4.3.4 Subglacial caldera lakes;71 5.2.10;4.4 Adaptations, bioenergetics, and cosmopolitan genera in subglacial environments 4.4.1 Molecular adaptations for survival in icy environments;72 5.2.11;4.4.2 Resistance to high oxygen concentrations;73 5.2.12;4.4.3 Survival under oligotrophic conditions;73 5.2.13;4.4.4 Chemolithotrophy in subglacial environments;76 5.2.14;4.4.5 Do subglacial environments harbor endemic microbial species?;76 5.2.15;4.5 Conclusions;78 5.2.16;References;79 5.3;Bacteria in the Deep Sea: Psychropiezophiles;83 5.3.1;5.1 Introduction;83 5.3.2;5.2 The deep-sea psychropiezophiles;85 5.3.3;5.3 Taxonomy of the psychropiezophiles;85 5.3.4;5.3.1 The genus Shewanella;86 5.3.5;5.3.2 The genus Photobacterium;87 5.3.6;5.3.3 The genus Colwellia;87 5.3.7;5.3.4 The genus Moritella;88 5.3.8;5.3.5 The genus Psychromonas;88 5.3.9;5.4 The fatty acid composition of psychropiezophiles;89 5.3.10;5.5 Conclusions;90 5.3.11;References;90 5.4;Bacteria in Permafrost;93 5.4.1;6.1 Introduction;93 5.4.2;6.2 Soil cover;95 5.4.3;6.3 Permafrost;99 5.4.4;6.3.1 Bacterial biodiversity;99 5.4.5;6.3.2 Cyanobacteria;100 5.4.6;6.3.3 Anaerobic bacteria;103 5.4.7;6.3.4 Resistance of permafrost bacteria to antibiotics and heavy metals;105 5.4.8;6.3.5 Resistance of permafrost bacteria to radiation;106 5.4.9;6.3.6 Resistance of permafrost bacteria to freezing- thawing stres