Deinococcus radiodurans

Deinococcus radiodurans is an extremophilic bacterium and one of the most radiation-resistant organisms known. It can survive cold, dehydration, vacuum, and acid, and therefore is known as a polyextremophile. It has been listed as the world's toughest known bacterium in The Guinness Book Of World Records. The name Deinococcus radiodurans derives from the Ancient Greek δεινός () and κόκκος () meaning "terrible grain/berry" and the Latin radius and durare, meaning "radiation surviving". 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 sequenced strain was ATCC BAA-816. Deinococcus radiodurans has a unique quality in which it can repair both single- and double-stranded DNA.

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