Question

How and why is bacterium Thermus aquaticus employed in recombinant DNA technology? Explain.

Answer 1

Bacterium Thermus aquaticus is a heat labile bacterium which is obtained from hot springs of temperatures more than 97-degree centigrade. This bacterium produces an enzyme Taq polymerase which is thermostable and is active even at high temperature also and results in the denaturation of double-stranded DNA. These enzymes are widely used in the recombinant DNA technology mainly PCR (Polymerase chain reaction). In PCR these Taq polymerase enzymes help in the amplification of desired DNA to obtain better recombinants.