Microorganisms from Patagonia and Antarctica and their cold-active skills for using polymeric materials

Abstract

Aquatic and soil ecosystems are rich environments in polymeric material from different structures of the organisms belonging to the three domains of life. Microbial communities play important roles in food webs, contributing to the regeneration of nutrients within these systems. The ecosystems of Patagonia and Antarctica are important reservoirs of microorganisms with potential biotechnological interest, due to cold-active hydrolytic enzyme activities produced by them and because of the diversity of enzymes-producing microbes. Cold-active amylase, pectinase, cellulase, carboxymethyl-cellulase, xylanase, galactosidase, glucosidase, chitinase, α-rhamnosidase, lipase, urease and esterase activities were so far detected in bacterial and fungal isolates from Patagonia and Antarctica.