Haiku for D. radiodurans
Super powers
heal itself.
Bulked to fight
the earthling’s
toxic villians.
by Dr. JeM YinJoy
How to pronounce Deinoccocus Radiodurans.
Deinoccocus Radiodurans (Dine-oh-caw-cuss Ray-deoh-dur-ans).
The Spiritual Significance
In spite of its popular title, “Conan the Bacterium,” D. radiodurans may be more comparable to an indestructible superhero from DC Comics legends than any mere warrior human.
Like a powerful superhero, D. radiodurans can withstand assaults of radiation, acid, extreme heat and dryness that would sap the life blood, of the average bacterium. (of course you know by now that bacterial “blood” is really called cytoplasm).
While radiation is commonly used to kill pathogenic bacteria on surgical instruments and in cans of food, D. radiodurans simply shrugs it off as an ordinary bump or bruise and gets its incredibly powerful DNA repair machine to smooth it out in quick order.
The unusual array of talents hoisted around D. radiodurans’ belt, has caused microbiologist to wonder if D. radiodurans originated from a far distant galaxy, brought to us by a meteorite.
That story already has the stamp of superhero legend on it, doesn’t it?
However so far, experiments have shown other, perhaps less fantastical ways that D. radiodurans might’ve evolved its super powers on earth. So the exotic origins story may just have to be proven when D. radiodurans finally reveals its secret to a trusted cadre of friends.
Meanwhile, one superpower that D. radiodurans has whispered to yours truly, is that of a being a powerful healer. Just as Christopher Reeves embodied the essence of super hero and healer, as is evidenced by his life journey, of going from a superhero icon to a super healer one, when he overcame a debilitating tragedy and became spokesperson for paraplegics – D. radiodurans contains within its identity the essentials of superhero and super healer.
The Microbiology
D. Radiodurans, one of the hardiest bacteria known. Because of this reputation, it has been dubbed “Conan the Bacterium.” Like the strong and muscular Barbarian from this movie reference, D. Radiodurans has the power to endure extremes of heat and cold, strong acids ultraviolet light, desiccation, ionizing radiation and even, the vacuum of space!
It is an extremophile to the nth degree and has earned its reputation as “The World’s Toughest Bacterium.”
The name Deinococcus radiodurans derives from the Ancient Greek (deinos) and (kokkos) meaning “terrible grain/berry” and the Latin radius and durare, meaning “enduring radiation”.
D. radiodurans has a uniquely shaped, genome with a torus-shaped (doughnut-shaped) compartment used for repairs. Its speed at DNA repair exceeds that of other bacteria as well as its mechanisms of DNA repair, which also exceed other bacteria in their uniqueness. D. radiodurans can repair both single stranded and double-stranded DNA as well as take up DNA from neighboring cells to incorporate into its damaged genome.
Habitat
D. radiodurans lives where it can feed on organic matter, which is found abundantly in soil, sewage, feces and meat. D. radiodurans has also been isolated from dried foods, room dust, medical instruments and textiles, as it most likely was the sole survivor of a method used to sterilize these materials (and kill off other not-as-hardy microbes, including spore formers).
NASA reports star system Trappist-1, and 7 newly discovered habitable planets.
A possible source of extraterrestrial microbes like D. radiodurans.