The bacterium *Deinococcus radiodurans* is renowned for its ability to survive extreme doses of ionizing radiation that would be lethal to most other organisms. While radiation shatters the bacterium’s chromosome into hundreds of fragments, *D. radiodurans* can assemble these pieces back into a functional genome within hours. Researchers have determined that this rapid repair is facilitated by the bacterium's ring-like nucleoid structure, which keeps the damaged DNA fragments in close spatial alignment. This structural arrangement prevents the fragments from diffusing away from one another, allowing repair proteins to efficiently rejoin the correct segments in their original order.
According to the text, how does the structure of *Deinococcus radiodurans* support its genome repair process?
- ABy preventing the chromosome from breaking into fragments when exposed to radiation.
- BBy allowing the bacterium to mutate its genes to survive in radioactive environments.
- By keeping the broken DNA fragments close together to prevent them from dispersing.Cevap
- DBy producing repair proteins that absorb and neutralize ionizing radiation.