Deinococcus geothermalis
A Microbial Biorealm page on the genus Deinococcus geothermalis
Classification
Higher order taxa
Bacteria; Deinococcus-Thermus; Deinococci; Deinococcales; Deinococcaceae; Deinococcus
Species
Deinococcus geothermalis
Description and significance
Deinococcus geothermalis is a gram positive, thermophilic radiophile (1). It was isolated in hot springs in Naples, Italy and in Sao Pedro do Sul in Portugal. D. geothermalis propagates in a temperature range from 45 to 50 °C and a pH range from 4.5 to 8.5, experiencing optimal growth at 47 °C and a pH of 6.5. It forms spherical cells approximately 1.2 to 2.0 micro meters in diameter which amasses into orange-pigmented colonies (2). Deinococcus geothermalis is capable of reducing Fe (III)-nitrilotriacetic acid, U (VI), and Cr (VI). (1) It is these characteristics that support the potential development of this bacterium for bioremediation of radioactive waste (1).
Genome structure
The genome structure of Deinococcus geothermalis is made up of one circular chromosome (2,467,205 base pairs) and a plasmid (574,127 base pairs), producing a genome of 3,041,331 base pairs (4). Even being exposed to a radiation level of 50 Gy/h D. geothermalis is able to continue its metabolism (5), partly due to the extra copies of its DNA and repair mechanisms available to it (6).
Cell structure and metabolism
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Ecology
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Pathology
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Application to Biotechnology
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Current Research
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References
1. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract&artid=169113 2. http://www.medscape.com/medline/abstract/9336890 3. https://www.cbs.dtu.dk/services/GenomeAtlas/versions/beta/show-genus.php?KLSO=ASC&KLSK=ORGANISMSORT&kingdom=Bacteria&KLphylaDeinococcusThermus=on&GLgenus=Deinococcus&GLSHWPLA=on&GLSHWMERG=on&GLspecies=geothermalis&GLsupStrain=DSM11300&GLsubStrain=DSM11300 4. http://www.genome.jp/kegg-bin/show_organism?org=dge 5. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=169113 6. http://www.microbeworld.org/know/radiation.aspx
Edited by John-Minh Q. Nguyen, student of Rachel Larsen and Kit Pogliano