Abstract: To adapt to the extreme polar environment, polar yeasts maintain their life through unique cold-adaptive strategies including production of antifreeze proteins, unsaturated fatty acids, extracellular polysaccharides, pigments, and cold-active enzymes. These products have great potential for commercial use, including applications in the fields of food, agriculture, medicine, textiles, and health. Although research has been conducted on polar yeasts for over a century, there are still knowledge gaps relating to their geographical distribution, diversity, and ecological function which need further exploration and development. In this paper, the discovery and application of polar yeasts are reviewed to provide a reference for further research and development of polar yeast product resources.

Key words: polar environment, yeast, cold-adaptive, diversity, product resources