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Deinococcus radiodurans
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Deinococcus radiodurans
Deinococcus radiodurans is a bacterium, an extremophile and one of the most radiation-resistant organisms known. It can survive cold, dehydration, vacuum, and acid, and therefore is known as a polyextremophile. The Guinness Book Of World Records listed it in January 1998 as the world's most radiation-resistant bacterium and most radiation-resistant lifeform.
Several bacteria of comparable radioresistance are known, including some species of the genus Chroococcidiopsis (phylum cyanobacteria) and some species of Rubrobacter (phylum Actinomycetota); among the archaea, the species Thermococcus gammatolerans shows comparable radioresistance.
The genus name Deinococcus comes from Ancient Greek δεινός (deinós), meaning "terrible", and κόκκος (kókkos), meaning "berry". The specific epithet radiodurans comes from radius and durare, meaning "radiation" and "surviving" respectively. The species was formerly called Micrococcus radiodurans. As a consequence of its hardiness, it has been nicknamed "Conan the Bacterium", in reference to Conan the Barbarian.
Initially, it was placed in the genus Micrococcus. After evaluation of ribosomal RNA sequences and other evidence, it was placed in its own genus Deinococcus, which is closely related to the genus Thermus.
Deinococcus is one genus of three in the order Deinococcales. D. radiodurans is the type species of this genus, and the best studied member. All known members of the genus are radioresistant: D. proteolyticus, D. radiopugnans, D. radiophilus, D. grandis, D. indicus, D. frigens, D. saxicola, D. marmoris, D. deserti, D. geothermalis, and D. murrayi; the latter two are also thermophilic.
D. radiodurans was discovered in 1956 by Arthur Anderson at the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station in Corvallis, Oregon. Experiments were being performed to determine whether canned food could be sterilized using high doses of gamma radiation. A tin of meat was exposed to a dose of radiation that was thought to kill all known forms of life, but the meat subsequently spoiled, and D. radiodurans was isolated.
The complete DNA sequence of D. radiodurans was published in 1999 by The Institute for Genomic Research. A detailed annotation and analysis of the genome appeared in 2001. The genome is found in four parts: two chromosomes sized 2.65 Mbp and 412 kbp, one megaplasmid of 177 kbp, and one regular-sized plasmid of 46 kbp. The sequenced strain was ATCC BAA-816.
In August 2020, scientists reported that bacteria from Earth, particularly Deinococcus radiodurans bacteria, were found to survive for three years in outer space, based on studies conducted on the International Space Station (ISS). These findings support the notion of panspermia, the hypothesis that life exists throughout the Universe, distributed in various ways, including space dust, meteoroids, asteroids, comets, planetoids, or contaminated spacecraft.
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Deinococcus radiodurans
Deinococcus radiodurans is a bacterium, an extremophile and one of the most radiation-resistant organisms known. It can survive cold, dehydration, vacuum, and acid, and therefore is known as a polyextremophile. The Guinness Book Of World Records listed it in January 1998 as the world's most radiation-resistant bacterium and most radiation-resistant lifeform.
Several bacteria of comparable radioresistance are known, including some species of the genus Chroococcidiopsis (phylum cyanobacteria) and some species of Rubrobacter (phylum Actinomycetota); among the archaea, the species Thermococcus gammatolerans shows comparable radioresistance.
The genus name Deinococcus comes from Ancient Greek δεινός (deinós), meaning "terrible", and κόκκος (kókkos), meaning "berry". The specific epithet radiodurans comes from radius and durare, meaning "radiation" and "surviving" respectively. The species was formerly called Micrococcus radiodurans. As a consequence of its hardiness, it has been nicknamed "Conan the Bacterium", in reference to Conan the Barbarian.
Initially, it was placed in the genus Micrococcus. After evaluation of ribosomal RNA sequences and other evidence, it was placed in its own genus Deinococcus, which is closely related to the genus Thermus.
Deinococcus is one genus of three in the order Deinococcales. D. radiodurans is the type species of this genus, and the best studied member. All known members of the genus are radioresistant: D. proteolyticus, D. radiopugnans, D. radiophilus, D. grandis, D. indicus, D. frigens, D. saxicola, D. marmoris, D. deserti, D. geothermalis, and D. murrayi; the latter two are also thermophilic.
D. radiodurans was discovered in 1956 by Arthur Anderson at the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station in Corvallis, Oregon. Experiments were being performed to determine whether canned food could be sterilized using high doses of gamma radiation. A tin of meat was exposed to a dose of radiation that was thought to kill all known forms of life, but the meat subsequently spoiled, and D. radiodurans was isolated.
The complete DNA sequence of D. radiodurans was published in 1999 by The Institute for Genomic Research. A detailed annotation and analysis of the genome appeared in 2001. The genome is found in four parts: two chromosomes sized 2.65 Mbp and 412 kbp, one megaplasmid of 177 kbp, and one regular-sized plasmid of 46 kbp. The sequenced strain was ATCC BAA-816.
In August 2020, scientists reported that bacteria from Earth, particularly Deinococcus radiodurans bacteria, were found to survive for three years in outer space, based on studies conducted on the International Space Station (ISS). These findings support the notion of panspermia, the hypothesis that life exists throughout the Universe, distributed in various ways, including space dust, meteoroids, asteroids, comets, planetoids, or contaminated spacecraft.
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