Extremophiles in biotechnology
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Extremophiles in biotechnology is the application of organisms that thrive in extreme environments to biotechnology.
Extremophiles are organisms that thrive in the most volatile environments on the planet and due to their talents, they have begun playing a large role in biotechnology. These organisms live everywhere from environments of high acidity or salinity to areas with limited or no oxygen. Scientists show keen interest in organisms with rare or strange talents and in the past 20-30 years extremophiles have been at the forefront with thousands of researchers delving into their abilities.[1] The area in which there has been the most talk, research, and development in relation to these organisms is biotechnology.
Scientists around the globe are either extracting DNA to modify genomes or directly using extremophiles to complete tasks.[2] Thanks to the discovery and interest in these organisms the enzymes used in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were found, making the rapid replication of DNA in the lab possible. Since they gained the spotlight researchers have been amassing databases of genome data for the hopes that new traits and abilities can be used to further biotechnical advancements Everything from the biodegradation of waste to the production of new fuels is on the horizon with the developments made in the field of biotechnology. There are many different kinds of extremophiles with each kind favoring a different environment. These organisms have become more and more important to biotechnology as their genomes have been uncovered, revealing a plethora of genetic potential. Currently the main uses of extremophiles lies in processes such as PCR, biofuel generation and biomining, but there are many other smaller scale operations at play. There are also labs that have identified what they wish to do with extremophiles, but haven't been able to fully achieve their goals. While these large scale goals have not yet been met the scientific community is working towards their completion in hope of creating new technologies and processes.