How Deinococcus Radiodurans Is A Member Of The Bacteria Kingdom

134). They are loops of DNA that are separate from the chromosomal DNA and can self-replicate in a cell, found mostly in bacteria (Brown, 2011; Addgene, 2015). Lederberg and William Hayes discovered that plasmids were being transferred from one cell to another, not the chromosomal DNA (Brown, 2011, p. 135). This discovery lead to plasmids being an essential tool for scientists. Scientists can engineer plasmids to have specific genes to introduce into new cells (Brown, 2011, p. 134). On a plasmid loop there will be an origin of replication (ORI) and a multiple cloning site (MCS) where the gene of interest is inserted (Bio-Rad, 2015). This region has specific restriction enzyme recognition sites, which are cut by the enzymes to open up the DNA where the new gene will be inserted (Jove Science Education Database, 2015). Most plasmids will also contain an antibiotic resistance gene allowing cell survival in environments containing antibiotics (Jove Science Education Database, 2015).

Bacterial plasmids differ from bacterial chromosomes by not being essential to bacterial growth and metabolism. They are extracellular chromosomes that contain DNA. Bacterial chromosomes are essential for bacterial survival.

coli are picked and the plasmids are purified. The purified plasmids are used as a template for the sequencing reaction. The objective of the lab was to learn how to use the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene from a bacteria colony, also be able to run an agarose gel to visualize the resulting PCR amplifications and extract the amplified DNA from the agarose gel.

In this experiment, we determined the phenotypic capability of an unknown plasmid along with its size. With the use of gel electrophoresis, we analyzed the gel photograph by using a standard DNA marker, Lambda HindIII, and came to a conclusion based on our results.

The identification of bacteria is a fundamental objective of microbiologists. It is essential to distinguish specific bacterial properties to understand the environment, physiology and disease. As new bacterial species emerge and existing ones evolve into different strains, it is imperative that microbiologists continue to isolate bacteria from the field, identify their findings and research newly discovered forms. Their discoveries can then be used to evaluate the types of microbial life that may be found in certain environments and the corresponding benefits or risks to those that dwell in those areas.

discoideum (SOURCE). P. aeruginosa is a Gram-negative pathogen that causes life-threatening infections in people with compromised immune systems, such as those undergoing chemotherapy or those with cycstic fibrosis. The bacteria is commonly seen in nosocomial infections (hospital-acquired infections), such as pneumonia, UTIs, and sepsis. First, it was tested whether or not P. aeruginosa could infect D. discoideum. P. aeruginosa strain PA14 was grown in LB, collected through centrifugation, and resuspended in SorC buffer (16.7 mM Na2H/KH2PO4/50 microM CaCl2, pH 6.0). D. discoideum was added to the bacterial suspension to create final concentration of 500 cells/ml. 0.2 ml of the mixture was pipetted on to SM/5 plates containing 1/5 of a SM stock solution (1% glucose/1% Bacto peptone/0.1% Bacto yeast extract/4.2 mM MgSO4). As a control, D. discoideum was also plated with Klebsilla aerogenes, which was known to be non-pathogenic towards D. discoideum. This first assay showed that the strain PA14 could infect D.

Certain people work well at high altitudes. People who live at higher altitudes have a higher hemoglobin count since it helps blood cells deliver oxygen to nourish body tissues. The oxygen level in the atmosphere decreases as the altitude increases. This is true with the majority of people who live in these high altitude regions like the Andes. There is a group of people from Tibet who does not follow this trend. They have a much lower hemoglobin level than an average person, and they live and work as successfully as other groups. Scientists questioned why did the Tibetans have a lower hemoglobin count that allows them to live and work successfully? The discovery of the mutation in the EPAS1 gene may have an answer.

-Plasmid is a small, circular, double-stranded DNA molecule that naturally exist in bacterial cells. The range of length are from hundreds base pairs to thousands base pairs. This is a great tool for clone, transfer, and manipulate genes.

Radiation is one of the most potent mass killers, “You would be very, very lucky to walk away” from a dose of 5 grays, Sloan said. Tardigrades are almost guaranteed to survive 6000-7000 grays of radiation, this means that Tardigrades can survive even inside nuclear power plants. The Tardigrade’s resilience to radiation is one of the key defense systems it has and one of the essential reasons that is survived all of the mass extinction events.

The extraordinarily resilient bacterial species of Bacillus pumilus has been observed to withstand inexorable quantities of ultraviolent radiation and extreme temperatures. During Curiosity’s launch, scientists meticulously sterilized the launcher and probe so as to eliminate Earth contaminants. However, several hundred strands of these invincible bacteria could have survived the decontamination process. Although it is miraculous for even the most tenacious of microbes to survive the excruciatingly high levels of Ultra C radiation past the Van Allen’s belt, scientists are suspicious that B. pumilus may have survived a seven month trek with outrageously low temperatures and ghastly high quantities of radiation. A United Nation Outer Space Treaty specified that only 300 microbial endospores per meter could exist in the landing site. These rather stringent guidelines provoked agitation in some astronomers, as exceeding the limit would void Curiosity’s mission warrant. This article will

This experiment overall was very successful as using information obtained from the results of both the single and double digests, a credible restriction map for the unknown plasmid could be constructed. Within this experiment, both single digest and double digests consisting of three restriction endonucleases were used in order to map out the restriction sites of the enzymes making up an unknown plasmid. In order to separate the DNA fragments by their distinct number of base pairs, it was necessary to run an agarose gel electrophoresis. For this particular experiment, a 1% agarose gel was used as this concentration ultimately results in pores that can separate the DNA by size. The process of gel electrophoresis is made possible by the electric current that is used to move the samples of DNA throughout the gel. For this particular experiment, the gel was run at a current of 100 volts. As a result of the phosphate backbone of DNA, DNA is negatively charged. Because DNA is negatively charged, it moves away from the negative electrode and moves down the gel toward the positive electrode as it is attracted that way. What allows for the resistance the fragments face when moving away from the negative electrode is the texture of the gel itself. As a result, the slower fragments of DNA have the ability to move at a faster rate than the larger fragments of DNA. Each sample loaded into the gel contains a loading-dye for two reasons. One reason is that the loading dye contains

The deinococceae is a family of the uttermost radiation-resistant organisms. This bacterium, deinococcus radiodurans, was identified by a man and his co-workers in 1951 in Oregon. It was detected in a can of ground meat that became ruined. This bacterium has a boundless supply of environments in which it is found, from elephant dung to granite in Antarctic dry valleys. D. radiodurans have been found in nuclear reactors and nobody knows how they got there, but they just seem to go places and it is a mystery to everyone as to

The most spectacular discovery about Deinococcus radiodurans, the first poly-extremophile bacterium, is that it has developed an incredible amount of unexplainable resistance to radiation. It has remarkable DNA repair mechanisms which cannot be explained just by examining the genome and research seemingly yields no concrete data regarding what infers the resistivity against ionizing radiation. It can withstand at least a thousand times more radiation than a human can, in addition to UV radiation, desiccation, cold and acid. It has no known particular natural habitat as it has been found across a diverse range of environments, including in the Antarctic dry valleys, an environment on Earth that’s thought to closely resemble that of Mars. The microbe contains 4-10 copies of its genome and although the radiation causes extensive breaks in the genome, the microbe is able to utilize unique but poorly-understood DNA repair mechanisms that ensure reasonable fidelity. The genome has been sequenced and a protein has been found within its sequence that confers radiation resistance, RecA. Researchers are looking to take advantage of this protein by genetically engineering D. radiodurans to function in environmental clean-up, to speed up the process as well as reduce the costs. Future prospects of this bacteria include additional selective genetic engineering to metabolize a range of toxic organic compounds and to assess if life is possible in space, specifically on Mars. This bacterium

Radioresistant microbes are types of extremophile that can withstand high amounts of radiation. They are able to survive 500 times the amount of radiation compared to humans. This extremophile has evolved rapidly; they have repair mechanisms in their DNA to reverse genetic mutations caused by radiation. Radioresistant microbes can channel the radioactivity energy to produce their food. This category of extremophiles has been discovered thriving within nuclear reactors. Specifically, in the remains of the Ukrainian nuclear reactor, Chernobyl, which was the worst nuclear reactor disaster in history. A species of a radioreistant microbe, Deinococcus radiondurans, won the Guinness Book of World Record as “the world’s toughest bacterium”.

The presence of radionuclides and heavy metals in our surroundings has become the most serious environmental concern. These contaminants or pollutants fail to degrade on their own over time and must be removed or neutralized. Microorganisms act as natural catalysts in the process of transformation of toxic metals into non-toxic ones. This is why there is an increased interest in the understanding of microbiological processes which help in remediation of these toxic wastes from the environment (Francis 1990).