Research Areas

Extremophilic microorganisms present the novel and underexplored source for the important enzymes. The extremophiles living in extreme environments have developed unique molecular mechanisms for the survival in extremities of pH, temperature, salinity and radiation. Extremozymes- extremophile derived enzymes- are able to catalyze the reaction under the conditions similar to the industrial processes and offer alternatives for industrial applications as well as represent the cornerstone for the development of environmentally friendly, efficient, and sustainable industrial technologies. Four industrially important enzymes genes – α-amylase, α-glucosidase, β-glucosidase and α-xylosidase were obtained from the metagenomes of the Tuwa and Unnai hot springs. Enzymes were cloned in pET32a vector and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) strain. Protein expression by IPTG induction was observed and optimized at lower temperature. Protein purification was done using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography and biologically active protein was obtained which was further analyzed using SDS PAGE gel. Many more important enzymes having the potential application in food, fermentation, detergent, paper and pharmaceutical industry are to be identified and expressed from the metagenomes of hot springs.