Ecology of Psychrophilic and Psychrotrophic Micro-Organisms in Cold and Frozen Soils

For thirty years our research deals with ecology and physiology of microorganisms in cold continental environments such as cold caves, alpine and arctic glaciers [1], and recently in Siberian permafrost. Our purpose is to explain the mechanisms of cold adaptation. After an overlook on microbial ecology of cold environments which were the subject of general reviews [2, 3, 4], especially on Antarctica [5, 6], this paper deals with the particular features of microbial life in glacier and permafrost systems where microorganisms encounter extreme conditions.