TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - BIOLOGY - Preferred Components: The thermophilic Chloroflexi-like bacteria is capable of degrading cellulose and has the identifying characteristics: Gram positive, filamentous bacteria with branching hyphae and cells of 0.2-0.4 mu m in width and 30 mu m or greater in length, has white vegetative mycelia with yellow under-layer aerobe, pH growth of 3.1-7.5, at 40-75 degrees C, growth on starch, carboxymethylcellulose, xylan, pullulan, Avicel (RTM: Crystalline cellulose), mannose, trehalose, cellulosic pulp, and cellobiose as the sole energy source on FS3V medium (mineral salts medium comprising e.g. 0.4 g of ammonium chloride (NH4Cl), 0.1 g of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KH2PO4) and 0.04 g magnesium sulfate heptahydrate (MgSO47H2O)). The bacteria further exhibits growth on FS3V medium on gellan, Phytagel (RTM: Gellan gum), pectin, xanthan, sodium, alginate, filter paper, glycogen, hemicellulose, glucose, maltose, fructose, arabinose, xylose, L-rhamnose monohydrate, ribose, sucrose, raffinose, N-acetylglucosamine, methanol, ethanol, propanol and butanol. The Chloroflexi-like bacteria is strains of T81, T26 and T12. The culture of a cellulose degrading thermophilic Chloroflexi-like microorganism comprises a 16S ribosomal subunit nucleic acid sequence comprising: (a) SEQ ID NO: 1 or its variant or fragment; (b) SEQ ID NO: 2 or its variant; (c) SEQ ID NO: 3 or its variant; (d) a variant nucleic acid sequence that has greater than 81% identity to a nucleic acid sequence of any one of (a) to (c); (e) a nucleic acid sequence complementary to a nucleic acid of any one of (a) to (d); and (f) a sequence of at least 10 nucleotides in length, capable of hybridizing to the sequence of any one of (a) to (e) under stringent hybridization conditions. The variant nucleic acid sequence has at least 82%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99% identity to a nucleic acid sequence of any one of (a) to (f). The isolated cellulose degrading Chloroflexi-like microorganism comprises: SEQ ID NO.1 or its fragment or variant; SEQ ID NO.2 or its fragment or variant; and SEQ ID NO.3 or its fragment or variant, where all sequences are not defined here may be found at ftp://ftp.wipo.int/pub/published_pct_sequences/publication. Preferred Method: The treatment is effected at a: temperature of 40-75 degrees C, preferably 60-65 degrees C; and pH of 3-7.5 or 4-7, preferably 5. The method is an aerobic treatment method.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - BIOTECHNOLOGY - Preparation: No preparation method is given. EXAMPLE - Strains T81 was derived from volcanic soil. There was a steep temperature gradient through the vertical soil structure, which consisted of an undecomposed organic horizon (0-2 cm, 31 degrees C), an A-horizon (2-5 cm, 42 degrees C), an iron-rich horizon (5-10 cm, 53 degrees C), black ash (10-15 cm, 63 degrees C) and white ash and pumice (below 15 cm, 71 degrees C). Samples from 2-15 cm were used for inoculation of bacterial growth media. The media used for isolation was a basal salts mixture solidified Phytagel (RTM: Gellan gum) (0.8-1.5%) with magnesium chloride hexahydrate (MgCl2.6H2O) (2 g). Two basic mineral salts media, FS3V (containing ammonium chloride (0.4 g), monopotassium phosphate (0.1 g), magnesium sulfate heptahydrate (0.04 g), calcium chloride hexahydrate (0.02 g), ferric (Fe)EDTA solution containing ferrous sulfate heptahydrate (1.54 g) and disodium ethylenediamine tetraacetate (2.06 g), trace element 1 solution (6 ml) (containing zinc sulfate heptahydrate (ZnSO4.7H2O) (0.44 g), copper sulfate pentahydrate (CuSO4.5H2O) (0.20 g), manganese chloride pentahydrate (0.19 g), sodium molybdate dihydrate (Na2MoO4.2H2O) (0.06 g), boric acid (0.10 g) and cobalt (II) chloride hexahydrate (CoCl2.6H2O) (0.08 g)), and trace element 2 solution (containing nitrilotriacetic acid (1.5 g), ferrous ammonium sulfate hexahydrate (0.2 g), sodium selenite (0.2 g), CoCl2.6H2O (0.1 g), manganese sulfate dihydrate (0.1 g), Na2MoO4.2H2O (0.1 g), sodium tungstate dihydrate (0.1 g), ZnSO4.7H2O (0.1 g), aluminum chloride hexahydrate (0.04 g), nickel chloride hexahydrate (0.025 g), boric acid (0.01 g) and CuSO4.5H2O (0.01 g))) and AOM1 medium (containing ammonium sulfate (4 g), sodium bicarbonate (0.25 g), potassium dihydrogen phosphate (0.05 g), magnesium sulfate heptahydrate (0.666 g), calcium chloride hexahydrate (5 mg), yeast extract (10 mg), vitamins (10 mg), FeEDTA solution (1 ml), trace elements solution 2 (1 ml) and Phytagel (RTM: Gellan gum)). The medium was adjusted to a pH of 4.5 using dilute hydrochloric acid. The media were solidified by adding Phytagel (RTM: Gellan gum) (15 g) and magnesium chloride hexahydrate (1 g) (at pH 4.5). The Phytagel (RTM: Gellan gum) served as both a solidifying agent and a potential energy source for chemotrophic growth. Vitamin mixture (containing folic acid (0.8 mg), vitamin B1 (8 mg), vitamin B2 (4 mg), niacin (1 mg), niacinamide (10 mg), pantothenate (15 mg), pyridoxine (15 mg), cobalamin (5 mg), biotin (5 mg), choline (15 mg), inositol (15 mg), and para-amino benzoic acid (7 mg)) (100 mg), and yeast extract (100 mg) were also added through a 0.2 mu m fitter after autoclaving to this medium. Soil crumbs were spread on plates and these were incubated at 60 degrees C. In most cases incubations were carried out in sealed jars or desiccators supplemented with 5-10 vol./vol.%. Plates were viewed after 3-4 days and then at 1-week intervals for at least 4 weeks. Colonies that formed around soil crumbs within 4 weeks were restreaked onto new medium. Individual colonies growing from these secondary streaks (within 4 weeks) were selected with the aid of a stereo microscope and serially streaked onto new plates until pure cultures were obtained.