Deinococcus Radiodurans and its Guinness World Record


I am pleased to present a few interesting facts about Deinococcus radiodurans (D. radiodurans). D. radiodurans were discovered in 1956 by Professor Arthut W. Anderson in Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station, Corvallis Oregon. While Arthur W. Anderson was sterilizing canned meat to omit its decomposition; the emergence of various reddish colonies made a presence. One may wonder how something like this could have happened? The explanation for such an event is that the meat cans were exposed to high doses of radiation; These high temperatures of radiation were supposed to be enough to eliminate all known forms of life. For this reason, this bacterium should be given the appropriate name that would honor its ability to survive in extreme conditions. These radiation-resistant organisms were granted with the name of Deinoccocus Radiodurans. D. radiodurans literally means the "strange battle that endures radiation." 

D. radiodurans is well known due to its ability to overcome any adversity. As of today, there is no organism that can compete against D. radiodurans. It can survive extreme temperatures. Neither the cold, nor the heat can damage such a bacterium.  D. radiodurans can withstand up to 15,000 gray units of radiation. This amount of radiation is 3,000 times greater than the lethal dose for any person. Given the resistance to extreme conditions and radiation D. deinococcus was awarded with the Guinness World Record for the most-resistant life form. D. radiodurans is among the extremophile organisms that have the ability to survive in extreme environments. Extremophiles are known as those proficient organisms capable of surviving  high temperatures, acidity, radiation, pressure and toxicity.

Certainly,  scientists, biologists, professors, and students have a lot more to learn from the DNA of a strong organism like D. radiodurans also known as “ Conan the Bacterium.” The adaptability of Conan the Bacterium allows certain mechanisms to work together preventing any damage to its genetic information. Conan the bacterium carries out enzymes, proteins and specialized molecules that help repair the damage to its genetic structure. The DNA of any living being is made up of millions of molecules called nucleotides. A damaged nucleotide will not arrange into the DNA structure of D.radiodurans again. D.radiodurans owns a specific mechanism that helps remove damaged nucleotides from its interior to prevent them from rejoining its DNA and accumulating these remains in inadequate levels. 

Fortunately,  D.radiodurans does not cause any disease or infection in people. It would be very difficult to cure a disease derived from the greatest bacterium D.radiodurans. D.radiodurans can be easily grown in the lab; their colonies are convex, pinkish to reddish colors. Its red color is due to the carotenoids it produces. Its optimum growth temperature is between 25-35ºC and it stops dividing at temperatures below 4ºC and above 45ºC. Due to its easy cultivation at laboratory level and the versatility in multiple research studies D.radiodurans was awarded with the Guinness World Record.

References

Gerber, E et al. “Deinococcus as new chassis for industrial biotechnology: biology, physiology and tools.” Journal of applied microbiology vol. 119,1 (2015): 1-10. doi:10.1111/jam.12808

Comments

  1. EricaMarch 3, 2022 at 12:40 PM

    Good for you for taking a step away from lab and gathering more knowledge on the species you are investigating. Oh so important!

    ReplyDelete

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