Deinococcus radiodurans

Deinococcus radiodurans Latest News

Researchers recently found that the bacteria Deinococcus radiodurans, famous for being able to survive extreme radiation and dryness, can also survive the intense pressures of being blasted off of a planet’s surface: 14,000-24,000 earth atmospheres.

About Deinococcus radiodurans

• It is a bacterium best known for its extreme resistance to the lethal effects of ionizing radiation.
• This bacterium is gram-positive (which means it has a certain kind of cell wall), doesn’t move on its own (it’s nonmotile), and has a reddish color. 
• It was first found in 1956 in canned meat that had been treated with radiation to kill germs. 
• Dubbed “Conan the Bacterium” for its extraordinary ability to tolerate the harshest of conditions, D. radiodurans can withstand radiation doses thousands of times higher than what would kill a human.
• It is known as the most radiation-resistant organism on Earth.
• The secret behind this impressive resistance is the presence of a collection of simple metabolites, which combine with manganese to form a powerful antioxidant that is more resistant to radiation. 
• D. radiodurans has special ways to fix its own DNA if it gets damaged. An enzyme called thioredoxin reductase helps its cells fix broken DNA strands.
  • It can also get rid of damaged DNA parts and has extra copies of its important genes. 
  • This helps it recover from being very dry (called desiccation) or from not having enough food (called starvation).
• It can live through extreme cold, dehydration, vacuum, and even acid.

Source: TH

‹ ›