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Science 5 November 2004:
Vol. 306. no. 5698, p. 937
DOI: 10.1126/science.306.5698.937a
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This Week in Science

Figure 1 The bacterium D. radiodurans is extremely resistant to both ionizing radiation and desiccation. The mechanisms that allow the bacterium to survive are unclear, although each cell does contain four to eight genomic copies and the chromosome has an unusual ringlike structure. Daly et al. (p. 1025, published online 30 September 2004) now show that the ringlike organization of the chromosomes is unlikely to play a role in radiation resistance. Instead, it is the very high intracellular concentration of Mn ions relative to iron that is critical. Rather than providing protection against the initial burst of radiation, high intracellular Mn might act against sudden increases in damaging reactive oxygen species during the recovery from radiation insult.

CREDIT: DALY ET AL.




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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)