title: Deinococcus phoenicis sp. nov., an extreme ionizing-radiation-resistant bacterium isolated from the Phoenix Lander assembly facility.
abstract: A bacterial strain, designated 1P10ME(T), which was resistant to extreme doses of ionizing radiation, pale-pink, non-motile, and a tetrad-forming coccoid was isolated from a cleanroom at the Kennedy Space Center, where the Phoenix spacecraft was assembled. Strain 1P10ME(T) showed optimum growth at 30 °C, with a pH range for growth of 6.5-9.0 and was highly sensitive to sodium chloride, growing only in medium with no added NaCl. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain 1P10ME(T) represents a novel member of the genus Deinococcus, with low sequence similarities (<93.5%) to recognized species of the genus Deinococcus. The predominant cellular fatty acid was C15:1ω6c. This novel strain exhibits extreme resistance to gamma radiation (D10 >8 kGy) and UV (D10 >1000 Jm(-2)). The results of our polyphasic taxonomic analyses suggest that strain 1P10ME(T) represents a novel species of the genus Deinococcus, for which the name Deinococcus phoenicis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 1P10ME(T) ( = NRRL B-59546(T) = DSM 27173(T)).
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California, Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.
authors.forename: Parag
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vaishampayan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, California State University Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA.
authors.forename: Anne Hayden
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, California State University Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Augustus
authors.affiliation: Leibniz-Institute DSMZ - German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Inhoffenstr. 7B, D-38124 Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Rüdiger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pukall
authors.affiliation: Leibniz-Institute DSMZ - German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Inhoffenstr. 7B, D-38124 Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schumann
authors.affiliation: German Aerospace Center, Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schwendner
authors.affiliation: Microbial Type Culture Collection and Gene Bank (MTCC), Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh 160 036, India.
authors.forename: Shanmugam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mayilraj
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, California State University Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA.
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Salmassi
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California, Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.
authors.forename: Kasthuri
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Venkateswaran
mesh_terms: D001482:Base Composition; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D034301:Deinococcus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000528:radiation effects*; D004780:Environment, Controlled; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D005431:Florida; D005720:Gamma Rays; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D010858:Pigmentation; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D024482:Vitamin K 2 / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D005227:Fatty Acids; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D024482:Vitamin K 2; C024223:vitamin MK 8