Abstract
The deconstruction of biomass is a pivotal process for the manufacture of target products using microbial cells and their enzymes. But the enzymes that possess a significant role in the breakdown of biomass remain relatively unexplored. Thermophilic microorganisms are of special interest as a source of novel thermostable enzymes. Many thermophilic microorganisms possess properties suitable for biotechnological and commercial use. There is, indeed, a considerable demand for a new generation of stable enzymes that are able to withstand severe conditions in industrial processes by replacing or supplementing traditional chemical processes. This manuscript reviews the pertinent role of thermophilic microorganisms as a source for production of thermostable enzymes, factors afftecting them, recent patents on thermophiles and moreso their wide spectrum applications for commercial and biotechnological use.
Highlights
Organisms with an optimum temperature for growth between 60 and 80 °C are generally designated as thermophiles, while those growing optimally above 80 °C are Natural environments for anaerobic thermophiles range from terrestrial volcanic sites with temperatures slightly above ambient temperature, to submarine hydrothermal systems with temperatures exceeding 300 °C, subterranean sites such as oil reservoirs, and solar heated surface soils with temperatures up to 65 °C
Thermophilic microorganisms are of special interest as a source of novel thermostable enzymes
There is, a considerable demand for a new generation of stable enzymes that are able to withstand severe conditions in industrial processes by replacing or supplementing traditional chemical processes. This manuscript reviews the pertinent role of thermophilic microorganisms as a source for production of thermostable enzymes, factors afftecting them, recent patents on thermophiles and moreso their wide spectrum applications for commercial and biotechnological use
Summary
Environmental Chu et al (2001) protection, human nutrition and health and industrial applications. 2. Chemical stability: thermophilic organisms are able to grow at high temperature due to the chemical stability of their membrane lipids (Koga 2012). Because the GC base pair forms more hydrogen bonds than the AT base pair, higher G?C contents in the double-stranded stem region improves thermostability of the RNA molecules (Lao and Forsdyke 2000; Paz et al 2004). Many reported microorganisms possess the capability of cellulose hydrolysis or hydrogen production (H2), no conclusive research has been able to clarify that both of these capabilities are possessed in a single microorganism. Thermophiles are thought to be more robust for cellulose degradation and hydrogen production.
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