Meet Deinococcus Radiodurans, a teeny tiny microbe tougher than an army of Chuck Norris clones.

Credit: TEM of D. radiodurans acquired in the laboratory of Michael Daly, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD, USA.

It’s rather cute, in a blobby, fuzzy way, but don’t be fooled by the cuddly exterior. This muppet-like microbe is one of the most radiation resistant organisms that we’ve found. It also laughs in the face of drought, starvation, extreme temperatures, and lack of air. It’s a hardy little critter, hence the nickname, Conan the Bacterium.

A research team from USU (Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences) in Bethesda, MD have been working for years to figure out how to use the mighty microbe to combat the leaking of radioactive waste left over from the Cold War.  It’s no small feat, radioactive waste from the nuclear weapons built between 1945 and 1986 is stored at 120 sites. Today those underground storage containers are slowly leaking contaminating the soil and groundwater. The largest storage container, the Hanford Site is home to an imposing 50 million gallons of radioactive waste, and too close to the Columbia River.  What good can our little friend Conan do in the face of this dire situation? Well, Conan the Bacterium is a yeast microbe and rather special. Yeast microbes are not only resistant to radioactive waste, they can also create layers of biofilm to trap the waste, so USU have been attempting to harness the might of Deinococcus Radiodurans, and so far have succeeded in enhancing it with the ability to transform toxic chemicals and heavy metals into less deadly forms. However, all superpowers have their weakness, Conan’s is acid. Very weak levels of acid at that, it retreats from even a mildly zingy lemon pH level. Sigh…so close, and yet so far.

But there’s a new kid in town, Rhodotorula Taiwanensis, an attractive crimson tinted fungus found flourishing in an abandoned acid mine, that not only happily hangs out in acidic conditions, but also shows no fear towards radiation or heavy metals, and can produce biofilm under harsh conditions. So what’s Rhodotorula’s weakness? It likes a nice moderate temperature, and unfortunately the soil around the seeping steel storage containers can get to a toasty 120 degrees Fahrenheit. That doesn’t put it out of the game though, it could still be placed close enough to the tankers to catch seeping waste without dying of heat exhaustion.

Better still, a tag team operation might be on the cards in the future, the team from USU have reported that Deinococcus Radiodurans is a generous neighbor. When it’s mixing with other yeast, the other microbes seem to benefit from enhanced resistance to radioactive materials. Hurrah!