THE genetic secrets of the toughest bacterium on the planet will soon be
known, according to Claire Fraser of the Institute for Genomic Research near
Washington DC and her colleagues. They have recorded all 3 284 156 letters of
its DNA sequence (Science, vol 286, p 1571).
Deinococcus radiodurans can survive desiccation, bitter cold,
extreme heat and exposure to thousands of times the amount of radiation that
would kill a human. The researchers found that the microbe contains more DNA
repair genes than any other organism whose genome has so far been sequenced.
But Fraser says that even that can only partly explain the bacterium鈥檚
hardiness. The rest of the mystery may lie in the 1513 genes with no known
function. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have the puzzle鈥檚 answer, but we have all the pieces,鈥� she
says.
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