Abstract

The majority of the earth biosphere is under constant low temperatures and microorganisms are the primary organic matter recyclers in cold environments. However, our current knowledge regarding the microbial ecology of cold regions is rather low, especially about yeasts. The interest in understanding the microbial ecology of cold environments has increased in the last decades, including studies about the strategies that evolved in microorganisms that allow them to successfully thrive in these extreme conditions. On the other hand, much of the interest in these microorganisms is due to their high potential that can be applied in industrial/biotechnological areas. Here, we present an actualized review about yeasts that have been isolated and identified from different cold environments on earth. Most of our knowledge about them is derived from studies using classical culture-dependent methodologies that have been complemented with molecular tools for an integral identification of yeasts. A brief review of yeasts identified by culture-independent methods, such as metagenomics, is included, a technique whose development is continuously increasing and used in microbial diversity studies from different environments, but still incipiently used in studies about fungi from cold environments. Regarding the potential of cold-adapted yeasts in different areas, examples of novel or less reviewed elsewhere applications that are important for future applications are given.