title: Snow and ice ecosystems: not so extreme.
abstract: Snow and ice environments cover up to 21% of the Earth's surface. They have been regarded as extreme environments because of their low temperatures, high UV irradiation, low nutrients and low water availability, and thus, their microbial activity has not been considered relevant from a global microbial ecology viewpoint. In this review, we focus on why snow and ice habitats might not be extreme from a microbiological perspective. Microorganisms interact closely with the abiotic conditions imposed by snow and ice habitats by having diverse adaptations, that include genetic resistance mechanisms, to different types of stresses in addition to inhabiting various niches where these potential stresses might be reduced. The microbial communities inhabiting snow and ice are not only abundant and taxonomically diverse, but complex in terms of their interactions. Altogether, snow and ice seem to be true ecosystems with a role in global biogeochemical cycles that has likely been underestimated. Future work should expand past resistance studies to understanding the function of these ecosystems.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Microbial Genomics, Laboratoire Ampère, CNRS UMR 5005, Université de Lyon, Ecole Centrale de Lyon, 36 Avenue Guy de Collongue, 69134 Ecully, France.
authors.forename: Lorrie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Maccario
authors.affiliation: Environmental Microbial Genomics, Laboratoire Ampère, CNRS UMR 5005, Université de Lyon, Ecole Centrale de Lyon, 36 Avenue Guy de Collongue, 69134 Ecully, France.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sanguino
authors.affiliation: Environmental Microbial Genomics, Laboratoire Ampère, CNRS UMR 5005, Université de Lyon, Ecole Centrale de Lyon, 36 Avenue Guy de Collongue, 69134 Ecully, France.
authors.forename: Timothy M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Vogel
authors.affiliation: Environmental Microbial Genomics, Laboratoire Ampère, CNRS UMR 5005, Université de Lyon, Ecole Centrale de Lyon, 36 Avenue Guy de Collongue, 69134 Ecully, France. Electronic address: catherine.larose@ec-lyon.fr.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Larose
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D003080:Cold Temperature; D017753:Ecosystem; D007053:Ice; D059013:Microbial Consortia / Q000502:physiology*; D056265:Microbial Interactions; D012914:Snow / Q000382:microbiology*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D007053:Ice
keywords: Extreme; Ice; Microbial ecology; Snow