Microorganisms represent the major portion of biomass on Earth with enormous diversity in morphology, genetics, and metabolism, which implies huge application potentials for humankind. Our group is interested in using genetic, genomic, and bioinformatic approaches to develop microbial systems that can be applied to various environmental processes, such as production of biofuels and green chemicals, remediation of hazardous substances, and environmental detection and monitoring. Currently, we focus on a group of hyperthermophilic bacteria called Thermotoga. These bacteria can ferment sugars to acetic acid and release hydrogen gas as a waste, which may be harvested by humans to be used as a clean fuel or an intermediate for many industrial applications. Their robust thermostable enzymes have also drawn wide attention from the biotechnology sector.
