Cold adapted microorganisms, plants and animals are widely distributed in nature since more than 80% of the biosphere show temperatures below soc. Their articles summarize the actual and potential applications of cold-adapted organisms and viruses in several fields of biotechnol­ ogy, such as enzymes, health, food, agriculture and environment.

Genetic Tools.- Development of regulatable expression systems for cloned genes in cold-adapted bacteria.- Enzyme Biotechnology.- Biotechnology of enzymes from cold-adapted microorganisms.- Low temperature organic phase biocatalysts using cold-adapted enzymes.- Lipases A and B from the yeast Candida antarctica.- Peptide hydrolases from antarctic krill — an important new tool with promising medical potential.- Heat-labile uracil-DNA glycosilase from a psychrophilic marine bacterium.- Health Biotechnology.- Principle of cold-adaptation in the derivation of live-attenuated respiratory virus vaccines.- Food Biotechnology.- Cold-adapted microorganisms for use in food biotechnology.- Low temperature fermentation of wine and beer by cold-adapted and immobilized yeast cells.- Agricultural Biotechnology.- Cold-resistant plant development by genetic manipulation of membrane lipids.- The potential use of cold-adapted rhizobia to improve symbiotic nitrogen fixation in legumes cultivated in temperate regions.- Plant protection by cold-adapted fungi.- Snow mold-crop-environment interactions.- Environmental Biotechnology.- Simulation analysis of operation conditions for a municipal wastewater treatment plant at low temperatures.- The potentials of submesophilic and/or psychrophilic anaerobic treatment of low strength wastewaters.- Effectiveness of wastewater lagoons in cold regions.- Low temperature anaerobic treatment of swine manure.- Biodegradation of organic pollutants at low temperatures.- Bio-Mining.- Biohydrometallurgical processes and temperature.- Multidisciplinary Applications.- Applications of biological ice nucleators.- Applications of antifreeze proteins.

There is an increasing interest of biotechnologists in the potential of cold-adapted organisms, since they play a major role in the processes of nutrient turnover and primary biomass production in cold ecosystems. Essential advantages of the application of such organisms are the rapid microbial metabolism at low temperatures, the low activation energy for enzymatic substrate hydrolysis and the low thermostability of enzymes from cold-adapted organisms. Benefits can also be deduced from the frost hardiness and frost resistance of cold-adapted plants and animals.

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