Deinococcus radiodurans
Deinococcus radiodurans is a gram positive bacterium that is .001 millimeters big . This bacterium is very tough in many ways. One
of the ways is that it can handle a lot of radiation. The microbe can withstand
5,000 greys of gamma radiation where as a human can only with stand 2,000
greys. D. radiodurans is not able to completely get rid of the radiation but it
helps with the clean up time and money. D.
radiodurans structure is what helps the microbe be so resistant to radiation.
There are six layers to the cells structure. The middle layers are where the
heart of the cells is. This is where the plasma membrane is located. Next are
two protective layers. These layers have not been proven to do anything
important for the cell by scientists. The last two layers are the electrolucent
zone and the protein subunits. When the microbe is exposed to the radiation it is
broken up into hundreds of pieces. After this, the most amazing thing happens.
D. radiodurans is able to fix its own DNA. The microbe repair its two stranded DNA
by using RecA which is a protein essential to DNA repair. RecA plays a huge
part in the repair process because it is the main player in both of the phases
to fix the DNA. The process can take anywhere from an hour up to 24 hours. This
is a very short time to stitch back together a radiation-shattered
genome. The microbe can then go back and repeat the process over
and over again. With this bacterium being able to repeat the process and also
having help from a hundred more of its kind, the clean up time would be cut in
half. These little guys don’t have a specific habitat so the can be found
anywhere, which means they will always be here to help.
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