The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a method widely used to make millions to billions of copies of a specific DNA sample rapidly, allowing scientists to amplify a very small sample of DNA sufficiently to enable detailed study. PCR was invented in 1983 by American biochemist Kary Mullis at Cetus Corporation. Mullis and biochemist Michael Smith, who had developed other essential ways of manipulating DNA, were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1993.
Bacillus subtilis, known also as the hay bacillus or grass bacillus, is a Gram-positive, catalase-positive bacterium, found in soil and the gastrointestinal tract of ruminants, humans and marine sponges. As a member of the genus Bacillus, B. subtilis is rod-shaped, and can form a tough, protective endospore, allowing it to tolerate extreme environmental conditions. B. subtilis has historically been classified as an obligate aerobe, though evidence exists that it is a facultative anaerobe. B. subtilis is considered the best studied Gram-positive bacterium and a model organism to study bacterial chromosome replication and cell differentiation. It is one of the bacterial champions in secreted enzyme production and used on an industrial scale by biotechnology companies.
Thermus thermophilus is a Gram-negative bacterium used in a range of biotechnological applications, including as a model organism for genetic manipulation, structural genomics, and systems biology. The bacterium is extremely thermophilic, with an optimal growth temperature of about 65 °C (149 °F). Thermus thermophilus was originally isolated from a thermal vent within a hot spring in Izu, Japan by Tairo Oshima and Kazutomo Imahori. The organism has also been found to be important in the degradation of organic materials in the thermogenic phase of composting. T. thermophilus is classified into several strains, of which HB8 and HB27 are the most commonly used in laboratory environments. Genome analyses of these strains were independently completed in 2004. Thermus also displays the highest frequencies of natural transformation known to date.
In materials science and molecular biology, thermostability is the ability of a substance to resist irreversible change in its chemical or physical structure, often by resisting decomposition or polymerization, at a high relative temperature.
In taxonomy, Thermococcus is a genus of thermophilic Archaea in the family the Thermococcaceae.
In taxonomy, Staphylothermus is a genus of the Desulfurococcaceae.[1]
Polymerase stuttering is the process by which a polymerase transcribes a nucleotide several times without progressing further on the mRNA chain. It is often used in addition of poly A tails or capping mRNA chains by less complex organisms such as viruses.
Alicyclobacillus is a genus of Gram-variable, rod-shaped, spore-forming bacteria. The bacteria are able to grow in acidic conditions, while the spores are able to survive typical pasteurization procedures.
Thermoanaerobacter is a genus in the phylum Bacillota (Bacteria). Members of this genus are thermophilic and anaerobic, several of them were previously described as Clostridium species and members of the now obsolete genera Acetogenium and Thermobacteroides
Geobacillus thermoglucosidasius is a thermophilic gram-positive bacterium, and a member of the Bacillota phylum. It was first isolated from soil in Japan in 1983.
Glucan 1,4-alpha-maltohydrolase is an enzyme with systematic name 4-alpha-D-glucan alpha-maltohydrolase. This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction
Thermotoga petrophila is a hyperthermophilic, anaerobic, non-spore-forming, rod-shaped, fermentative heterotroph, with type strain RKU-1T. T. petrophila was first discovered and isolated from an oil reservoir off of the coast of Japan and was deemed genetically distinct from its sister clades. Because these organism are found in deep, hot aquatic settings, they have become of great interest for biotechnology due to their enzymes functioning at high temperatures and pressures.
Saccharolobus solfataricus is a species of thermophilic archaeon. It was transferred from the genus Sulfolobus to the new genus Saccharolobus with the description of Saccharolobus caldissimus in 2018.
Geobacillus jurassicus is a thermophilic bacterium first isolated from a high-temperature petroleum reservoir. It is aerobic, gram-positive, rod-shaped, moderately thermophilic, chemoorganotrophic, and endospore-forming, with type species DS1T.
Caldibacillus is a facultative anaerobe genus of bacteria that stains Gram-positive from the family of Bacillaceae. The type species of this genus is Caldibacillus debilis.
Alicyclobacillus acidocaldarius is a species of Gram positive, strictly aerobic, bacterium. The bacteria are acidophilic, thermophilic, and produce endospores. The first identified strains of A. acidocaldarius were from geysers in Yellowstone National Park and fumerole soil in Hawaii Volcano National Park. The species was originally classified as Bacillus acidocaldarius in 1971, but further 16S rRNA studies found that the species belonged in the newly created genus Alicyclobacillus. The species name is derived from the Latin acidum (acid) and caldarius, referring to the acidic and high temperature environments from which it was first isolated. Thomas D. Brock was one of the researchers who first categorized the species; his discovery of Thermus aquaticus allowed for other researchers to discover Taq polymerase and polyermase chain reaction (PCR).
Extremophiles in biotechnology is the application of organisms that thrive in extreme environments to biotechnology.
Schinkia is a genus of Gram-positive rod-shaped bacteria in the family Bacillaceae from the order Bacillales. The type species of this genus is Schinkia azotoformans.
Sutcliffiella is a genus of Gram-Positive rod-shaped bacteria in the family Bacillaceae from the order Bacillales. The type species of this genus is Sutcliffiella cohnii.
Alkalicoccus is a genus of Gram-Positive rod-shaped bacteria in the family Bacillaceae from the order Bacillales. The type species of this genus is Alkalicoccus saliphilus.
