Abstract

ALCANTARA DIAZ, David. Origen y mecanismos de la radio-resistencia en Deinococcus radiodurans. Rev. educ. bioquím [online]. 2014, vol.33, n.4, pp.96-103. ISSN 1665-1995.

During the process of Darwinian adaptation to extreme environmental conditions, natural selection of organisms more likely to survive and reproduce takes place. However, in the case of Deinococcus radiodurans, a highly resistant bacterium to both ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, it is difficult to explain how this happened because under natural conditions it has never been exposed to the radiation levels sufficient to create a selective pressure for the development of radiation resistance. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the cellular mechanisms causing its high resistance to gamma and UV radiation as well as the environmental conditions that likely gave rise to it. One such hypothesis is that D. radiodurans was exposed to high levels of radiation outside the Earth, perhaps on Mars, where this phenotype developed. However, the difficulties to explain how this bacterium could make the round trip between Earth and Mars have caused the preference of the idea that the high radiation resistance was acquired as a collateral consequence during adaptation to a different environmental situation in its terrestrial natural habitat.

Keywords : Deinococcus radiodurans; Radiation Resistance,Panspermia.

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