Noll K M, Vargas M
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-3125, USA.
Arch Microbiol. 1997 Aug;168(2):73-80. doi: 10.1007/s002030050472.
Hyperthermophilic Archaea and Bacteria are an extraordinarily important class of organisms for which genetic tools remain to be developed. Unique technological obstacles to this goal are posed by the thermophilic and, in some cases, strictly anaerobic nature of these organisms. However, recent advances in the cultivation of hyperthermophiles, in the discovery of genetic elements for vector development, and in the construction of genetic markers point toward the achievement of this goal in the near future. Transformation protocols have already been reported for Sulfolobus and Pyrococcus, and plasmid-mediated conjugation was recently found in Sulfolobus. Plasmids are available for Sulfolobus, Pyrococcus, and the bacterial hyperthermophile Thermotoga, and these provide the bases for vector construction in these hosts. A Desulfurococcus mobile intron may provide a novel means to introduce genes into a variety of archaeal hosts. With full genome sequences of several hyperthermophiles available soon, genetic tools will allow full exploitation of this information to study these organisms in depth and to utilize their unique properties in biotechnological applications.
嗜热古菌和细菌是一类极其重要的生物体，但针对它们的遗传工具仍有待开发。这些生物体的嗜热特性，以及在某些情况下的严格厌氧特性，给实现这一目标带来了独特的技术障碍。然而，嗜热菌培养、载体开发遗传元件的发现以及遗传标记构建方面的最新进展表明，在不久的将来有望实现这一目标。已经报道了针对硫化叶菌属和火球菌属的转化方案，最近在硫化叶菌属中还发现了质粒介导的接合作用。有适用于硫化叶菌属、火球菌属以及嗜热细菌嗜热栖热菌的质粒，这些质粒为在这些宿主中构建载体提供了基础。移动内含子可能为将基因导入多种古菌宿主提供一种新方法。随着几种嗜热菌的全基因组序列即将问世，遗传工具将使我们能够充分利用这些信息深入研究这些生物体，并在生物技术应用中利用它们的独特特性。
