Geobacillus thermodenitrificans NG80-2 is a long-chain alkane degrading thermophilic bacillus that was isolated from a deep subterranean oil-reservoir in northern China.In our previous studies,by genomic and proteomic approaches,we investigated the metabolic process for the utilization of long-chain alkanes(C15– C36)in NG80-2 and revealed that a key enzyme,long-chain alkane monooxygenase(LadA),initiates the first step of aerobic degradation of alkanes.