RADIATION RESISTANT BACTERIA COULD ADVANCE MEDICINE, WASTE CLEANUPS
ROCKVILLE, Maryland, November 19, 1999 (ENS) - The complete genetic code of
the world’s most radiation resistant organism - the bacteria Deinococcus
radiodurans - has been detailed by Department of Energy (DOE) funded
researchers at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR). This strain of
pink bacteria can survive 1.5 million rads of gamma irradiation - 3,000
times the amount that would kill a human. That dose of radiation shreds the
bacteria’s genome into hundreds of pieces. The organism’s ability to repair
this DNA damage in a day and go on living offers researchers clues to the
mechanisms of cellular repair. Advances in this area could improve the
understanding of cancer, which can be caused by unrepaired DNA damage.
Genetically engineering the microbe could lead to improved ways to clean up
pollution and to new industrial processes.
"This is a significant accomplishment," Energy Secretary Bill Richardson
said. "Besides the insights into the way cells work, this new research may
help provide a new safe and inexpensive tool for some of the nation’s most
difficult cleanup challenges." D. radiodurans was first isolated in 1956
from samples of canned meat thought to be sterilized by gamma radiation.
"We anticipate a terrific boost for industrial and environmental
microbiology," said TIGR president Claire Fraser. "D. radiodurans is
readily manipulated in the lab, so new functions can be introduced into its
genome. We foresee its use for novel industrial processes that most
bacteria cannot survive." The research is published in the November 19
issue of the journal "Science," a publication of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science.
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