New thermophilic prokaryotes with hydrolytic activities

Abstract

Thermophilic microorganisms are capable of growing on polymeric substrates and have been intensively studied for their enzymes, thermostable hydrolases (glycosidases, proteinases, lipases), which have important applications in many fields of bioindustry: production of detergents, food processing, paper and textile industry, biofuel formation from organic wastes, etc.1. The advantages of thermostable enzymes application are in their higher stability not only against temperature, but also against high or low pH, presence of detergents, etc. High temperature increases solubility of substrates2, thus making them more available, and significantly decreases the contamination risks. Many highly stable hydrolases, produced by thermophilic bacteria and archaea have been discovered3–6; however, due to continuous industrial demand and our knowledge that natural environments are a significant reservoir of genetic and hence functional diversity7, new thermophilic organisms producing hydrolytic enzymes are still of high interest. Here we present our achievements in isolation of novel thermophilic bacteria and archaea with various hydrolytic activities.