Question

Name the source organism of $Taq$ polymerase. mention the specific role of this enzyme in the polymerase chain reaction.

Answer 1

T. aquaticus is a bacterium that lives in hot springs and hydrothermal vents, and Taq polymerase was identified as an enzyme able to withstand the protein-denaturing conditions (high temperature) required during PCR. Therefore, it replaced the DNA polymerase from E. coli originally used in PCR.