Thermophiles and Their Diverse Function in Agricultural and Biotechnological Applications

Thermophiles are microorganisms that adapt to their harsh environment niche (> 60 °C) due to their unique genetic makeup which makes them favourable to cope with extremely high-temperature conditions. Thermophiles are considered a potential candidate due to the flexibility of their genome organisation, which attracts researchers to employ them in metabolic engineering applications. Many factors are responsible for maintaining the unique genetic makeup in thermophiles which includes charged amino acids, cell integrity, membrane permeability, unique lipid constituents, G + C content and a high number of intramolecular salt bridges due to the dominance of charged amino acids. Thermophiles tend to reduce heavy metals toxicity in the soil and help in the proper functioning of the biogeochemical cycle in the atmosphere. The uniqueness in their genetic makeup makes them different from other extremophiles and increases their applications in various environmental, industrial, biofuel and dairy products. This review mainly addresses a rational analysis of the unique characteristics of thermophiles, including their genetic makeup and their applications in industrial biotechnology.