Genome reconstitution in the extremely radiation resistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans

Abstract

The bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans is highly resistant to the effects of ionizing radiation, (IR). Cultures of Deinococcus survive exposure to IR doses of 5,000 Gray (Gy) with no lethality. At 5,000 Gy, several hundred double strand breaks are introduced into the genome. Recovery from this DNA damage occurs in two phases, one independent of RecA protein and one that requires RecA. A number of proteins are induced in Deinococcus in response to exposure to ionizing radiation, and many of those most highly expressed are novel proteins. A variety of Deinococcus proteins involved in genome reconstitution are now under biochemical investigation. Many of these proteins exhibit unusual properties, but a complete explanation for the radiation resistance of Deinococcus is not yet available. © 2006 Springer.