Thermus aquaticus

Ecology

Thermus Aquaticus was first isolated in the Great Fountain region of Yellowstone National Park from neutral and alkaline springs in 1969 by Brocks and Freeze. This discovery disproved the previous beliefs that bacteria could not function properly at higher temperatures. After this discovery, some strains of Thermus Aquaticus were discovered in hot springs in Iceland and hydrothermal vents in other parts of the world. 

CONTROVERSY: After the isolation of Thermus Aquaticus, samples of it were deposited in the American Type Culture Collection, which is a public repository and other scientists were able to obtain samples and do more research. By about 1980's it was pretty obvious the potential for commercialising the enzymes from this organism were extremely high and lots of profits and revenue were involved. A Swiss pharmacuedical copany called Laroche patened it and so the National Park Systems were not receiving any; of the profits eventhough the organism was isolated at a national park which is public property and so this is called "great Taq ripoff". Since then researches at the parks sign an agreement of "benefits sharing" so portions of profits can get back to park services.

The fight for patent right's of the Taq enzymes are still going on. A Swiss company "Hoffman Roche Corporation" is claiming patent rights but European Patent office revoked their pattern for naturally occuring Taq DNA polymerase based on the fact that finding these enzymes was not a novel invention. Hoffman La Roche is appealing. Meanwhile,