Functioning of microbial world in polar environments

The polar areas are considered laboratories for the study of microbial biodiversity and biogeochemistry, also in light of the potential effects of climate change on global scale. The Arctic and Antarctica are extreme environments, similar in the shortness of trophic web and in low temperatures. Despite this, their different geomorphological and climatic conditions determine the life of wide and diversified cold-adapted microbial communities, whose functional roles are not yet completely understood. In both poles, the inclusion of a mosaic of functionally different ecosystems complicates the general picture while improving the opportunities to explore new - but also old - forms of microbial life at community and single cell levels. Aiming at highlighting some specific areas of potential research interest, an overview of the current studies conducted by CNR-ISP over different environmental matrices and the future challenges on polar microbiology are presented.