Thermophiles

Microorganisms are the diverse living things present on the Earth. India has numerous unique thermal habitats that comprise several diversity hotspots, such as hot springs, deep oceanic hydrothermal openings, anaerobic biodigesters. The existence of life at high temperatures is quite attractive. At both ends of the temperature range suited with life, only microorganisms can grow and survive. Thermophiles are a typical extremophilic microbes capable of existence in high temperature environments. At such high temperature, the ordinary cellular functions adversely affected for mesophiles. The thermophiles effectively manage instability of the plasma membrane, inactivation of enzymes instability of DNA, as well as other hostile physiological variations at such an elevated temperature. Heat shock proteins (Hsps) have established the most attention in thermophiles under stress condition, which is well described in this chapter. This chapter offers comprehensive information about thermophiles, physiology, metabolism, enzymes of metabolic pathways, and various adaptation mechanisms.