Taq polymerase

Taq polymerase is an enzyme found in Thermus aquaticus, an organism which live in environments of extremely high temperatures, such as hot springs. It is therefore extremely thermostable and is therefore described as a thermophilic bacterium. It is an enzyme commonly used in the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) as it can withstand the required high temperatures (95 degrees) of the Thermo Cycler, retaining enzymatic function.

During PCR, Taq polymerase is used to extend the primers. Alternatively, Pfu is another thermostable DNA polymerase that may be used in PCR, this has a proof reading ability and is therfore more accurate .