[ RadSafe ] 'Bacterial radioresistance'

[Maury Siskel]

March 21, 2007

Researchers Uncover Protection Mechanism Of Radiation-resistant Bacterium

Science Daily — Results of a recent study titled “Protein Oxidation 
Implicated as the Primary Determinant of Bacterial Radioresistance,” 
will be published in the March 20 edition of PLoS Biology. The study, 
headed by Michael J. Daly, Ph.D., associate professor at the Uniformed 
Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), Department of 
Pathology, shows that the ability of the bacterium Deinococcus 
radiodurans to endure and survive enormous levels of ionizing radiation 
(X-rays and gamma-rays) relies on a powerful mechanism that protects 
proteins from oxidative damage during irradiation.

Citation: Daly MJ, Gaidamakova EK, Matrosova VY, Vasilenko A, Zhai M, et 
al. (2007) Protein oxidation implicated as the primary determinant of 
bacterial radioresistance. PLoS Biol 5(4): e92. 
doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0050092.