Bored Stiff Yet? Find Out How This Bacteria Can Help You!
There is no dispute that Deinococcus radiodurans is interesting, but it
can also be very useful as well. Because of the manganese ions found
in the cells, this bacteria has a wealth of potential applications. Even though its talents
have not been utilized thus far, scientists are working very hard to harness
D. radiodurans in order to better the lives of humans.
Toxic Waste Clean Up
Many nuclear wastes contain high levels of toxic
metal ions. For example, lets examine the mercury II ion. Many bacteria have resistance to toxic metals, but not all bacteria can live in
a nuclear waste site. Since D. radiodurans is proficient in
transformation, it can incorporate genes of metal resistance from the
mer
operon in Escherichia coli into its genome.
Once D. radiodurans can survive, it can use the manganese ions to
reduce metals. This
creates a bacteria immune to both Hg and ionizing radiation with the
ability to reduce toxic mercury II ions to a much more stable state of the element.
It doesn't end there. Many fuel hydrocarbons, such as toluene, found at the US Department of Energy Waste sites contain heavy metals. Because D. radiodurans is solvent tolerant and can oxidize metal, it can be genetically engineered to take care of heavy metals before they become a threat to the environment.
Say What??
Now that the puzzle of radiation resistance is neari
ng
completion, there is hope to harness this to help cancer patients. Many of
the symptoms caused by radiation therapy of cancer is due to the DNA damage
inflicted on cells in close proximity of the tumor. Now that the manganese
complex has been purified from D. radiodurans there is hope of
protecting healthy cells to reduce the side affects of radiation therapy.