The revealed fragility of extremophile bacteria | LIPhy

Publication / Research

On December 18, 2025

Certain microorganisms such as bacteria have been selected and optimized by evolution to survive and function in extreme conditions, such as high temperatures. A theoretical and experimental study reveals the origin of these adaptation mechanisms and, above all, their limitations.

This new step toward understanding the development of (extra)terrestrial life has been published in Nature Communications.

For more information, visit:

the news on the CNRS Chimie website,
the scientific paper published in open access in Nature Communications.

Date

On December 18, 2025

Contacts

Fabio STERPONE (LBT, Paris)
fabio.sterponeibpc.fr (fabio[dot]sterpone[at]ibpc[dot]fr)

Judith PETERS (LIPhy & ILL, Grenoble)
judith.petersuniv-grenoble-alpes.fr (judith[dot]peters[at]univ-grenoble-alpes[dot]fr)

Reference

B. Caviglia, S. Timr, M. Guiral, M.-T. Giudici-Orticoni, T. Seydel, C. Beck, J. Peters, F. Sterpone & A. Paciaroni. Cytoplasmic fluidity and the cold life: proteome stability is decoupled from viability in psychrophiles. Nat. Commun. 16(1), 10345 (2025)