Roles of DNA repair and membrane integrity in heat resistance of Deinococcus radiodurans

To study the effects of heat shock on Deinococcus radiodurans and the role of DNA repair in high temperature resistance, different strains of D. radiodurans (wild type, recA, irrE, and pprA) were treated with temperatures ranging from 40 to 100 °C under wet and dry conditions. The mutant strains were more sensitive to wet heat of ≥60 °C and dry heat of ≥80 °C than the wild type. Both wild-type and DNA repair-deficient strains were much more resistant to high temperatures when exposed in the dried state as opposed to cells in suspension. Molecular staining techniques with the wild-type strain revealed that cells in the dried state were able to retain membrane integrity after drying and subsequent heat exposure, while heat-exposed cells in suspension showed significant loss of membrane integrity and respiration activity. The results suggest that the repair of DNA damage (e.g., DNA double-strand breaks by RecA and PprA) is essential after treatment with wet heat at temperatures >60 °C and dry heat >80 °C, and the ability of D. radiodurans to stabilize its plasma membrane during dehydration might represent one aspect in the protection of dried cells from heat-induced membrane damage.