Soil Yeasts in the Vicinity of Syowa Station, East Antarctica: Their Diversity and Extracellular Enzymes, Cold Adaptation Strategies, and Secondary Metabolites

Antarctica is known as one of the harshest environments on Earth, with a frigid and dry climate. Soil yeasts living in such extreme environments can grow by decomposing organic compounds at sub-zero temperatures. Thus far, a list of lichen and non-lichen fungi isolated from the area near Syowa Station, the base of the Japanese Antarctic research expedition, has been compiled and a total of 76 species of fungi have been reported. Yeast, especially basidiomycete yeast, is the dominant fungus in Antarctica. This mini-review summarizes a survey of the yeast diversity in the soil of Eastern Ongul Island and the ability of these yeasts to secrete extracellular enzymes. We also describe the yeast diversity in the soil of the Skarvesnes ice-free region and how these yeasts have adapted to the sub-zero environment. Further, we describe the secondary metabolites of these yeasts, whose production is induced by cold stress.