Current developments in marine microbiology: high-pressure biotechnology and the genetic engineering of piezophiles

• We focus on how HHP has influenced the life strategy of marine microorganisms.
• Common adaptation strategy allows microorganisms adapt to HHP like other stresses.
• Sampling and cultivation systems can mimic multiple environmental factors.
• Genetic system has been developed in both piezophilic archaea and bacteria.
• Piezophiles or their products could be introduced into various processes.
• Better understanding of HHP adaptation strategies are needed for biotechnologies.

A key aspect of marine environments is elevated pressure; for example, ∼70% of the ocean is at a pressure of at least 38 MPa. Many types of Bacteria and Archaea reside under these high pressures, which drive oceanic biogeochemical cycles and catalyze reactions among rocks, sediments and fluids. Most marine prokaryotes are classified as piezotolerant or as (obligate)-piezophiles with few cultivated relatives. The biochemistry and physiology of these organisms are largely unknown. Recently, high-pressure cultivation technology has been combined with omics and DNA recombination methodologies to examine the physiology of piezophilic marine microorganisms. We are now beginning to understand the adaptive mechanisms of these organisms, along with their ecological functions and evolutionary processes. This knowledge is leading to the further development of high-pressure-based biotechnology.

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