Eighty strains of thermophilic bacteria were isolated from hot springs and geothermal environment of Northern Taiwan. Nine strains of these isolates were selected by preliminary analysis of extracellular enzymes (protease, lipase, and amylase) productions. Conventional morphological and physiological characteristics as well as analysis based on 16S rDNA gene sequences were examined for the identification of these microorganisms. Seven endospore producing strains were identified as Bacillus. The other two non-spore forming isolates were identified as Thermus. Bacillus thermocatenulatus WL 65, isolated from a hot spring in Wu-lai, was selected for this study. This strain produced protease into extracellular medium when grown on Thermus medium containing tryptone and yeast extract at 55℃.
