A Gene disruption method in the hyperthermophilic bacterium, Thermotoga maritima

What is it about?

The gene manipulation of the chromosome has remained elusive in the hyperthermophilic bacterium, Thermotoga maritima. This has prevented efforts to manipulate specific metabolic pathways to measure their contributions to H2 yield. In the current study, for the first time, a homologous chromosomal recombination method was developed and was used to disrupt a gene in the pentose phosphate pathway.

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Why is it important?

It is very challenging to develop a genetic system in a hyperthermophilic anaerobic bacterium since many of the genetic markers fail at 80C. This paper describes the method of gene disruption in detail and this method can be used to develop a genetic system in other hyperthermophiles.