Master’s degree on Study of Keratinolytic thermophiles
Rubén Javier - López has completed his Master’s degree in Microbiology with a study on the novel thermophilic bacterium from hot springs in Tajikistan. Congratulations!

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Rubén Javier - López did his work on the anaerobic thermophilic bacterium Fervidobacterium pennivorans, named strain T, isolated from a terrestrial hot-spring in Tajikistan. Ruben worked on the isolation, genomic analysis and biochemical characterization of the thermophilic bacterium along with 3D structure prediction of putative keratinase by homology modeling. Fervidobacteriaceae is a family within the Thermotogae phylum, some of which members can disintegrate chicken feathers, degrading the keratin, one of the most abundant proteins on Earth and often accumulates, causing a serious waste problem. Keratinases and keratinolytic microorganisms have biotechnological potential as they can convert keratin into peptides and uncommon amino acids.