Riya D's Senior Project Blog

Project Title:  Media Type and Deinococcal Radiation Resistance BASIS Advisor: Mrs. Hagerman Internship Location: Glendale Community College Onsite Mentor: James Tuohy

Project Abstract

Named the “world's toughest bacterium,” Deinococcus radiodurans can survive nearly 1,000 times more radiation than any human. As a result of this extreme ultraviolet resistance, this species has become the primary focus in several of NASA’s space studies. Their findings indicate that it could survive up to 3 years in space – a discovery that has prompted research exploring the use and engineering of such bacteria for radiation protection in future space missions. The basis of such space-related research, however, lies in the thorough understanding of how the species’s radiation resistance functions initially in a laboratory setting. The answer to a question like “how could different growth media potentially alter the outcomes?” could pave the way for this crucial space research. In order to address this inquiry, I will test the effect of both Tryptone Glucose Yeast (TGY, high nutrient) and Reasoner’s 2A (R2, low nutrient) media on the Deinococcus species xinjiangensis’s resistance at various points during its exposure to UV – primarily, pre-UV, during-UV, and post-UV. By altering the media type at each of these stages in my various trials, I will effectively examine not only how media type impacts radioresistance, but also during what phase of exposure media type plays its most pivotal role.