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11:40
A Co-culture Method to Investigate the Crosstalk Between X-ray Irradiated Caco-2 Cells and PBMC
Published on: January 30, 2018
13.7K
Microbial cells can cooperate to resist high-level chronic ionizing radiation
Igor Shuryak1, Vera Y Matrosova2,3, Elena K Gaidamakova2,3
1Center for Radiological Research, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States of America.
Plos One
|December 21, 2017
Summary
Microorganisms, especially fungi, can survive chronic ionizing radiation (CIR). Resistant microbes protect sensitive ones, offering potential for bioremediation and radioprotection, highlighting the need for direct CIR studies.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Radiation Biology
- Environmental Science
Background:
- Chronic ionizing radiation (CIR) poses risks to health and environments.
- Radioactive sites harbor diverse microorganisms with unknown radiation resistance.
- Understanding microbial responses to CIR is crucial for risk assessment and bioremediation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the resistance of diverse bacteria and fungi to chronic gamma ionizing radiation (CIR).
- To explore the role of cell concentration and inter-species protection in CIR resistance.
- To model CIR effects using reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant kinetics and compare CIR and acute ionizing radiation (AIR) responses.
Main Methods:
- Testing 145 phylogenetically diverse microbial strains for growth under high CIR dose rates (13-126 Gy/h).
- Applying a mathematical model based on ROS and antioxidant dynamics.
- Comparing CIR resistance with acute ionizing radiation (AIR) resistance.
Main Results:
- Many fungi and bacteria exhibit resistance to high CIR dose rates; fungi are particularly resistant.
- Microbial CIR resistance can be influenced by cell concentration.
- Resistant microbes can protect neighboring radiosensitive cells from CIR.
- CIR resistance does not strongly correlate with AIR resistance; catalase is key for CIR resistance in D. radiodurans but not AIR resistance.
Conclusions:
- Direct investigation of CIR effects is essential, as responses differ from AIR.
- Certain microorganisms possess significant CIR resistance and protective capabilities.
- These findings suggest potential applications in radioactive waste bioremediation and developing radioprotective agents.
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