ABSTRACT
The food industry uses more than 55 enzyme products in food processing. This number will go up if more extremophiles are explored for enzymes that can be used in food processing. Microorganisms which grow and survive in extreme environments are known as extremophiles. The enzyme treatment thus requires the addition of enzymes from extremophiles, since commercial enzymes are not thermostable. The potential significance of exogenous enzymes to improve nutrient utilization and performance in poultry is already known. The poultry industry is the biggest user of feed enzymes. Developments in molecular biology, enzyme engineering, computational tools and high-throughput methodologies will permit development of efficient and useful biocatalysts from extremophiles, which retain activity under harsh conditions that are employed in the processing of certain foods and feeds. Extremophilic microbes are superior to their mesophilic counterparts in this regard, being a vast source of naturally-tailored enzymes for applications under extreme conditions.
