Parageobacillus thermantarcticus, an antarctic cell factory: From crop residue valorization by green chemistry to astrobiology studies

Knowledge of Antarctic habitat biodiversity, both marine and terrestrial, has increased considerably in recent years, causing considerable development in the studies of life science related to Antarctica. In the Austral summer 1986-1987, a new thermophilic bacterium, Parageobacillus thermantarcticus strain M1 was isolated from geothermal soil of the crater of Mount Melbourne (74°220 S, 164°400 E) during the Italian Antarctic Expedition. In addition to the biotechnological potential due to the production of exopolysaccharides and thermostable enzymes, successful studies have demonstrated its use in the green chemistry for the transformation and valorization of residual biomass and its employment as a suitable microbial model for astrobiology studies. The recent acquisition of its genome sequence opens up new opportunities for the use of this versatile bacterium in still unexplored biotechnology sectors.