Deinococcus


Deinococcus is one genus of three in the order Deinococcales of the bacterial phylum Deinococcus-Thermus highly resistant to environmental hazards. These bacteria have thick cell walls that give them Gram-positive stains, but they include a second membrane and so are closer in structure to Gram-negative bacteria. Deinococcus survive when their DNA is exposed to high doses of gamma and UV radiation. Whereas other bacteria change their structure in the presence of radiation, such as by forming endospores, Deinococcus tolerate it without changing their cellular form and do not retreat into a hardened structure. They are also characterized by the presence of the carotenoid pigment deinoxanthin that give them their pink color. They are usually isolated according to these two criteria.

Species

, there were 47 species of Deinococcus described according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information :
The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature and NCBI
and the phylogeny is based on 16S rRNA-based LTP release 132 by 'The All-Species Living Tree' Project.