A Systems Biology View on Bacterial Response to Temperature Shift

Extremophilic microbes have adapted to thrive in ecological niches characterized by harsh chemical/physical conditions such as, for example, very low/high temperature. Studying the mechanisms exploited by these microorganisms to overcome the selective pressure acting in such ecological niches is stimulating from a basic research viewpoint and because of biotechnological applications. The spreading of -omics technologies has greatly impacted this research field and our understanding of life in extreme conditions is constantly increasing. In this contribution we present an overview of the recent advances in the use of high throughput technologies (e.g. massive genome and transcriptome sequencing) for characterizing cold and heat shock response in microbes. Furthermore, we stress the importance of data integration (with a special focus on the use of metabolic modelling techniques) for a holistic comprehension of the basic cell functioning in response to temperature shifts. A recent example of the potential use of a systems biology framework in the context of cold shock response is also provided.