Deinococcus radiodurans R1

Deinococcus_radiodurans
Names Deinococcus radiodurans R1
Accession numbers NC_000958, NC_000959, NC_001263, NC_001264
Background Deinococcus is a gram-positive bacterium found to form pink or reddish colored colonies. Deinococcus is known for being the most radiation-resistant vegetative cell (R. Murray).The genome structure of Deinococcus radiodurans is made up of two chromosomes (2,648,638 and 412,348 base pairs), a megaplasmid (177,466 base pairs), and a small plasmid (45,704 base pairs), creating a genome of 3,284,156 base pairs (TIGR, 2004). The megaplasmid and chromosomes qualities are in part what allows the organism to withstand ?-radiation, desiccation, and oxidizing agents as well as many other DNA-damaging conditions such as starvation. D. radiodurans can also grow at 60Gy/h without any growth rate effects being visible (Y. Lui et al., 2003).When observed by an electron microscope, the cell wall was discovered to have an unusual thickness of about 50-60 nm, with a dense inner layer of about 14-20 nm. This inner wall creates the septa and sometimes the fenestrated layer. The septum forms an unusual shape, described as a pair of curtains rather than the typical "iris-diaphram". Deinococcus typically forms a tetrad shape, allowing a second division to begin before the first is complete during cell division (R. Murray).The natural habitat of Deinococcus is not yet known because Deinococcus is chemoorganotrophic. It has been isolated from a variety of sites, and needs a complex growth media. It seems that the proteases of Deinococcus may be used for the generation of several useful amino acids and possibly a few sugars as well. Deinococcus strains have been grown from a variety of materials including soil, animal feces, and meat. It is speculated that these aerobic bacteria are likely to live in rich organic habitats, such as feces or intestinal contents (R. Murray). (From http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Deinococcus) (MicrobeWiki: Deinococcus)
Taxonomy
Kingdom:Bacteria
Phylum:Deinococcus-Thermus
Class:Deinococci
Order:Deinococcales
Family:Deinococcaceae
Genus:Deinococcus
Species:radiodurans
Strain R1
Complete Yes
Sequencing centre (08-NOV-1999) The Institute for Genomic Research, 9712 Medical Center Dr, Rockville, MD 20850, USA
(28-SEP-2001) National Center for Biotechnology Information, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA
Sequencing quality Level 6: Finished
Sequencing depth NA
Sequencing method NA
Isolation site irradiated canned meat
Isolation country NA
Number of replicons 4
Gram staining properties Positive
Shape Cocci
Mobility No
Flagellar presence No
Number of membranes 1
Oxygen requirements Aerobic
Optimal temperature 30.0
Temperature range Mesophilic
Habitat Terrestrial
Biotic relationship Free living
Host name NA
Cell arrangement NA
Sporulation NA
Metabolism NA
Energy source Chemoorganotroph
Diseases NA
Pathogenicity No