Campbell Biology 11th Edition by Lisa Urry,Michael Cain,Steven Wasserman,Peter Minorsky,Jane Reece

Exercise 3

The water in the Yellowstone National Park hot springs shown here is around 160°F (70°C). Biologists assumed that no species of organisms could live in water above about 130°F (55°C), so they were surprised to find several species of bacteria there, now called thermophiles ("heat-lovers"). You've learned in this chapter how an enzyme from one species, Thermus aquaticus, made feasible one of the most important DNA-based techniques used in labs today. What was the enzyme, and what was the value of its being isolated from a thermophile Can you think of reasons other enzymes from this bacterium (or other thermophiles) might also be valuable