The homologue of cold shock gene cspA of Escherichia coli was detected in various isolates of Antarctic psychrotrophs representing both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The Northern hybridization study indicated that the transcript size of cspA in the psychrotrophic Gram-positive bacterium Arthrobacter protophormiae and Gram-negative Pseudomonas fluorescens was similar to that of E. coli and that the cspA homologues in these two psychrotrophs were expressed constitutively at a low level both at 4 degrees C and 22 degrees C. In P. fluorescens, the expression of cspA mRNA was inducible after shift of temperature from 22 to 4 degrees C and the maximum level of induction occurred after 1 h which correlated with the time-lag required for growth of the culture after temperature shift.