Table 1.
Pigments produced by cold-adapted bacteria and fungi, characterization, and biological activities
| Type of microorganism | Name of organism | Habitat | Pigment | Color | Biological function | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bacteria | Micrococcus roseus | Antarctic soil | Carotenoid | Yellow | Regulation of membrane fluidity | Chattopadhyay et al. (1997) |
| Arthrobacter agilis | Sea ice, Antarctica | Carotenoid | Yellow | Membrane stabilization at low temperature | Fong et al. (2001) | |
| Microbial mat; multiple bacteria isolated | Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, Nunavut, Canada | Carotenoid, Scytonemins | Yellow | Protection against reactive oxygen species, coping radiations, and other stresses | Mueller et al. (2005) | |
| Multiple bacteria isolated | Antarctic sites: Pony Lake and Cotton Glacier | Carotenoid | Yellow, orange, and dark rose red | Prevent against freeze–thaw cycles. Protection against UV radiation | Dieser et al. 2010 | |
| Sanguibacter suarezii KK6, Kocuria turfanensis KK7, Kocuria rosea KK12, and Planococcus maritimus KK21 | Leh and Ladakh soil, Himalayas | Carotenoid (Lycopene) | Yellow and orange | Survival strategy in a cold environment | Kushwaha et al. (2014) | |
| Arthrobacter isolates | Scott Base, Granite Harbour, Minna Bluff and Marble Point (Antarctic) | Carotenoid | Genes reported | Cold adaptation by stabilizing cell membrane, resistance to oxidative stress | Dsouza et al. (2015) | |
| 30 different heterotrophic pigmented bacteria were isolates | Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica | Carotenoid | Yellow and orange | Survival strategy in a cold environment | Vila et al. (2019) | |
| Novel species very close to Janthinobacterium lividum | Organic residue of a water tank keeping rainbow trout | Mixture of violacein and deoxyviolacein | Violet | Antibacterial activity and enhance competitive ability | Nakamura et al. (2002) | |
| Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC | ATCC |
Decaprenoxanthin (Carotenoid); Lycopene (Carotenoid) |
Yellow and red | Photoprotection and light-harvesting | Heider et al. (2012) | |
| Sphingomonas faeni and other | Anthropogenic cold environments | Astaxanthin (Carotenoid) | Yellow | Antagonistic effect against competitors | Mageswari et al. (2015) | |
| Janthinobacterium sp. HHS7 | Xinjiang glacier, China | Violacein | Violet | Adaptation to extremely low temperature | Lu et al. (2009) | |
| 11 psychrophilic Flavobacterium strains | Laigu, Zepu, Renlongba, and Gawalong glaciers in Bome County, Tibetan Autonomous Region, P.R. China | Flexirubin-type pigment | Yellow | Adaptation to extremely low temperature | Liu et al. (2019) | |
| Pseudomonas. Cryobacterium, Psychrobacter, Flavobacterium, and many others | Yuzhufeng Glacier, Tibetan Plateau, China | carotenoids such as α- and β-carotene, 19′-butanoyloxy-fucoxanthin, fucoxanthin, diatoxanthin, peridinin and zea/lutein, with α-carotene as the dominant carotenoid | (orange, reddish-orange, yellow, pink, brown, and white | Survival strategy in a cold environment | Shen et al. (2018) | |
| Genus Arthrobacter; Arthrobacter psychrophenolicus sp. nov | Alpine ice cave, Austria | Unidentified | Yellow | Survival strategy in a cold environment | Margesin et al. (2004) | |
| Thirty-seven heterotrophic bacterial isolates |
Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers, New Zealand |
Unidentified | Yellow and orange | Survival strategy in a cold environment | Foght et al. (2004) | |
| Multiple bacteria isolated | Prydz Bay, Eastern, Antarctica | Unidentified | Yellow, red, orange, pink | Survival strategy in a cold environment | Bowman et al. (1997) | |
| Multiple bacterial isolates are reported | Gulkana Glacier, Alaska | Unidentified | Pink, orange, white, cream, and yellow | Resistance and adaptation to cold temperatures | Segawa et al. (2011) | |
| Multiple bacterial isolates are reported | Siachen Glacier, Pakistan | Unidentified | Several colors pigments | Adaptation against cold temperature | Rafiq et al. (2017) | |
|
Proteobacteria, Firmicutes Actinobacteria Bacteroidetes |
Himalayan Glaciers in Uttarakhand, India | Unidentified | Lemon yellow, orange, brown, violet, pinkish-red and pale yellow | Adaptation against cold temperature | Panwar et al. (2019) | |
| Janthinobacterium sp. strain Ant5-2 | Lake Podprudnoye, Schirmacher Oasis, East Antarctica | Violacein | Purple violet | photoprotective role. UV and cold tolerance | Mojib et al. (2013) | |
| total of 31 g-positive bacteria was reported | King George Island, Antarctica Peninsula) | Unidentified | Yellow, red, orange, and amber | inhibit potential surface competitors | Leiva et al. (2015) | |
| Lysobacter oligotrophicus | Antarctica | (Lo-melanin) melanin | Dark-brown | Protection against UV-B irradiation. Scavenge ROS | Kimura et al. (2015) | |
| Hymenobacter actinosclerus and Chryseobacterium chaponense | King George Island, Antarctica | Carotenoids | Yellow and red | tolerate excessive UV irradiation | Órdenes-Aenishanslins et al. (2016) | |
| Pedobacter terrae | Doumer Island, Antarctica | Different pigments belong to carotenoids group | Red | Antioxidant activity, protection against UV radiation | Correa-Llantén et al. (2012) | |
| Multiple isolates were reported | coastal Antarctic Station Dumont d’Urville, European alpine snow pits, Nevado Illimani, Bolivia, and Antarctic Station Artigas, King George Island | Unidentified | Multiple colors | Uv radiation protection | González-Toril et al. (2008) | |
| Leeuwenhoekiella aequorea, Pseudomonas pelagia, Halomonas boliviensis, Rhodococcus yunnanensis, Algoriphagus ratkowskyi | Kongsfjorden, a glacial fjord on the west coast of Svalbard, | (Zeaxanthin) carotenoid | Yellow and red | cryoprotective agent in regulating membrane fluidity | Singh et al. (2017) | |
| Kocuria polaris sp. nov | McMurdo Dry Valley, Antarctica | Carotenoid | Orange | Reddy et al. (2003) | ||
| Arthrobacter sp. G20 | Caspian Sea | Carotenoid | Red | Afra et al. (2017) | ||
| Cyanobacterial mats | Antarctic stromatolitic and endolithic cyanobacterial communities | Scytonemin | Photoprotection | Wynn-Williams et al. (1999) | ||
| Lichen and cyanobacterial samples | Antarctic desert habitats, | β-carotene, Scytonemin, phycocyanin, etc | UV protection | Wynn-Williams and Edwards (2002) | ||
| Cyanobacteria-dominated microbial mats (several isolates) | McMurdo Sound region, Antarctica | Scytonemin, carotenoids, | Multiple colors | Vincent et al. (1993) | ||
| Fungi | Several yeasts were isolated | Antarctica (Admiralty Bay, King George Island, and Port Foster Bay and Deception Island) |
Carotenoids and Other pigments |
Several colors | Protection against UV radiation | Vaz et al. (2011) |
|
Dioszegia sp., Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, Rhodotorula laryngis |
Italian alpine glacier (Tonale Pass, TN, Italy) | Carotenoids | Orange to salmon-colored | Protection against UV radiation | Amaretti et al. (2014) | |
| Thelebolus microsporus | McLeod Island, Larsemann Hills, in the Prydz Bay area of East Antarctica |
β-carotene (Carotenoid) |
Bright orange to yellow-orange | Stress tolerance of UV radiation and extreme cold | Singh et al. (2014) | |
|
Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous |
King George Island, Antarctic Peninsula | Astaxanthin, phoenicoxanthin, β-carotene, (Carotenoid) | red, pale-yellow and yellow | photoprotective role | Contreras et al. (2015) | |
| Penicillium sp. (GBPI_P155) | Himalayan region of India |
Carotenoid (Derivatives) |
Dark orange pigment | Survival of the cold temperature | Pandey et al. (2018) | |
| Multiple fungal isolates were reported | Batura Glacier, Karakoram, Pakistan | Unidentified | Multiple colors | Adaptation against cold temperature | Hassan et al. (2018) | |
| Multiple endophytic fungal isolates were reported | Admiralty Bay, King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica | Melanin | Dark blackish | Protection against environmental stresses in cold habitats | Rosa et al. (2009) | |
| Antarctomyces pellizariae sp. nov., | Coppermine Peninsula, Robert Island, in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica | Unidentified | Blue | Cryo-protection of fungus | de Menezes et al. (2017) | |
| Cystofilobasidium capitatum and Sporobolomyces ruberrimus | Zooplankton (Antarctica) | β-Carotenoid | Resistance to ultraviolet B (UVB | Moliné et al. (2009) | ||
| Sporobolomyces salmonicolor, Cryptococcus albidus, and Cryptococcus laurentii | Livingston Island, Antarctica | β-carotene | Resistance to ultraviolet A (UVA) | Dimitrova et al. (2010) | ||
| Sporobolomyces salmonicolor | Livingston Island, Antarctica | β-Carotene, torularhodin, and torulene | Antioxidant activity | Dimitrova et al. (2013) | ||
| Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, Rhodotorula larynges, Dioszegia sp. | (King George Island, Antarctica | 2-γ-Carotene, Torulene, γ-carotene, and lycopene, Torulene, and lycopene, OHK torulene | Pink, pale red, red, orange | UV-C radiation tolerance | Villarreal et al. 2016 | |
| Nadsoniella nigra | Antarctica | Melanin | Black | Increase resistance in piglets and reduction of morbidity and mortality | Chyizhanska and Beregova (2009) | |
| Several yeasts strains | Antarctic biotopes | Melanin | Coal-black | Tashirev et al. (2010) | ||
| Cryptococcus sp. and Torrubiella sp | Sedimentary rocks (Union Glacier) Antarctic | Mycosporine | Pink and cream | Protection against UV radiations | Barahona et al. (2016) | |
| Dioszegia patagonica | (King George Island | Carotenoid | Orange | Trochine et al. (2017) | ||
| Arthrobotrys ferox | Moss samples (Wood Bay, Victoria Land Antarctica | Carotenoid and mycosporines | Resistance to ultraviolet-B (UVB | Arcangeli et al. (1997, 2000); Arcangeli and Cannistraro (2000) | ||
| 6 yeast strains and 11 bacterial strains | Galindez Island in the Argentine Islands in the north-western Antarctic Peninsula | Carotenoids and other pigments | Multiple colors | UV resistance | Vasileva-Tonkova et al. (2014) |