Taq DNA Polymerase (Thermostable Polymerase)
1976Isolation of a heat-stable DNA-replication enzyme from Thermus aquaticus, a bacterium living in Yellowstone hot springs -- a natural adaptation to its extreme thermal environment, unrelated at the time of discovery to any human application. Chien, Edgar & Trela, "Deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase from the extreme thermophile Thermus aquaticus" (J. Bacteriol. 127, 1550-1557, 1976-09-01, OpenAlex W1629931862, 704 citations). T. aquaticus itself was first described by Brock & Freeze in 1969. This node anchors the natural enzyme's discovery; see the linked node for its later repurposing into a practical, thermostable-polymerase-based PCR method.
Originators
- A. Chien
- D. Edgar
- John M. Trela
Landmark Paper
Checked 2026-09-04 — interim signal only, see docs/BASIC_ROADMAP.md Phase 10
Connections
- is precursor to Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)basis: reasoned
Saiki et al. 1988's own title and abstract state the contribution directly: replacing the Klenow fragment used in the original 1985 PCR demonstration with Taq polymerase, whose heat stability removes the need to add fresh enzyme every cycle -- Taq's natural thermostability (this node) is the specific enabling property, not just a shared research area.