Taqpolymerase (EC 2.7.7.7) is a thermostable DNA-dependent DNA polymerase that was first isolated in 1976 fromThermus aquaticusstrain YT-1 (ATTC # 25 104)( 1 ). It catalyzes the template-directed polymerization of dNTPs at high temperatures.
WhenTaqpolymerase was isolated in 1976, nobody could have known the impact the application ofTaqpolymerase to the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) would have on molecular biology ( 2 , 3 ). In an issue ofSciencein 1989, the enzyme was dubbed molecule of the year ( 4 ).
