MICR 221 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Thermus Aquaticus, Great Salt Lake, Mariana Trench
28 Apr 2016
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Document Summary
Hyperthermophilic bacteria and archaea are able to survive in temperatures close to boiling. (j. schmidt, yellowstone park via nasa web) Industrial microbiology e. g. extremozymes (a case study), thermostable proteins, thermostable membranes. Note some bacteria can even grow in an autoclave! Thermophilus aquaticus (mostly called thermus aquaticus today) survives @ 70 c. It was discovered in yellowstone park in the 1960s in a microbial ecology study. Years later, the potential of using its dna polymerase for biotechnology applications was realized. Taq polymerase is used for pcr, a technique that has transformed genetics, forensics, paternity testing, and diagnosis of disease. Carry mullus, pcr, heat resistant, can go to hight temps and will not denature. Psychrophiles can grow at temperatures close to 0 c, but many microbes are killed by subzero temperatures- this is the basis of the sewage bulbs in polar regions, as well as. Sewage being turned into snow at the swift current and the westport facilities.
