Adopt a Bacterium- Deinococcus radiodurans

Deinococcus radiodurans is a red-pigmented and non-motile microorganism. The bacterium is spherical in shape and approximately 1 to 2 um in size.

Dienococcus radiodurans has a very unique cell wall amongst Gram-positive bacteria. Although the cell stain is Gram-positive, its cell wall is very similar to that of a Gram-negative bacteria. The cell wall consists of multiple layers and an outer membrane. It lacks teichoic acid and the peptidoglycan contains ornithine.

D. radiodurans produces smooth, convex colonies that range in colour from red to pink.

This video highlights some of the main characteristics of Deinococcus radiodurans.

Bacteria of the genus Deinococcus exhibit an extraordinary ability to withstand the lethal and mutagenic effects of DNA damaging agents—particularly the effects of ionizing radiation. These bacteria are the most DNA damage–tolerant organisms ever identified. Relatively little is known about the biochemical basis for this phenomenon; however, available evidence indicates that efficient repair of DNA damage is, in large part, responsible for the deinococci's radioresistance. Obviously, an explanation of the deinococci's DNA damage tolerance cannot be developed solely on the basis of the DNA repair strategies of more radiosensitive organisms. The deinococci's capacity to survive DNA damage suggests that (a) they employ repair mechanisms that are fundamentally different from other prokaryotes, or that (b) they have the ability to potentiate the effectiveness of the conventional complement of DNA repair proteins. An argument is made for the latter alternative.

"D. radiodurans is capable of withstanding acute irradiation doses of 1 500 kilorads, a level hundreds of times higher than most other organisms. In most organisms, exposure to such doses of ionising radiation causes massive damage to genomic DNA, however D. radiodurans is capable of surviving and repairing hundreds of double strand breaks without loss of vitality."

"Today, scientists are searching for ways to exploit the bacterium's remarkable talents. They believe D. radiodurans will prove useful in cleaning up toxic waste and testing hypotheses about life in extreme environments, among other things."

"The high cost of remediating radioactive waste sites from nuclear weapons production has stimulated the development of bioremediation strategies using Deinococcus radiodurans, the most radiation resistant organism known."