The Genus Thermus: A Brief History of Cosmopolitan Extreme Thermophiles: Diversity, Distribution, Biotechnological Potential and Applications

The genus Thermus represents a group of archetypal extreme thermophiles found in both natural and man-made thermal environments. Thermozymes mined from these bacteria have found their use in a broad range of biotechnological and industrial applications, including feed and food production, pharmaceutical and paper-pulp industries, organic synthesis, starch-processing, etc. Moreover, several molecular biological tools and host-vector systems for heterologous expression of extremozymes of thermophiles and hyperthermophiles were developed on the basis of representatives of this genus. Several strains of the genus Thermus are also well known as metal reducers with high potency in use for bioremediation. This chapter summarizes the diversity, distribution, main physiometabolic characteristics of members of the genus Thermus, as well as their biotechnological capacity and applications.