Molecular Mechanisms Contributing to the Growth and Physiology of an Extremophile Cultured with Dielectric Heating

This study utilized the thermophile Thermus scotoductus SA-01 to determine changes in gene expression based on growth with convective or dielectric microwave heating (2.45 GHz) at 65°C. A total of 344 genes were identified as significantly differentially regulated across the three time points. Our results reveal that a large number of genes involved in cell wall recycling and biogenesis were induced, corroborating the elongated cell morphology observed in cells grown with dielectric heating. Genes associated with sugar metabolism were induced across multiple time points, while genes involved in denitrification were repressed, suggesting the different modes of heating influence metabolism. Additionally, an unexpected link was observed with regards to enzymes in which molybdenum serves as a co-factor. T. scotoductus were cultured at 65°C in a nutrient rich medium under either microwave radiation exposure or convective heating at three different points (8, 14 and 24 hours) of the growth cycle. Global transcriptional profiling was performed to to determine which genes were differentially expressed at each time point.