The full form of Taq is derived from the bacterium Thermus aquaticus.
Breakdown of the Term "Taq"
- Thermus: This part of the name indicates that the bacterium is stable at high temperatures (thermophilic).
- aquaticus: This part of the name indicates that the bacterium was found in hot waters.
Taq Polymerase
In 1976, Chien et al. isolated a specific protein molecule from Thermus aquaticus known as Taq polymerase, or more precisely, Taq DNA Polymerase. This enzyme is crucial in molecular biology, especially in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). It maintains its stability and activity even at high temperatures, which are required during the PCR process to denature DNA.
