Across the tree of life, radiation resistance is governed by antioxidant Mn²⁺, gauged by paramagnetic resonance.

ABSTRACT: Despite concerted functional genomic efforts to understand the complex phenotype of ionizing radiation (IR) resistance, a genome sequence cannot predict whether a cell is IR-resistant or not. Instead, we report that absorption-display electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy of nonirradiated cells is highly diagnostic of IR survival and repair efficiency of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) caused by exposure to gamma radiation across archaea, bacteria, and eukaryotes, including fungi and human cells. IR-resistant cells, which are efficient at DSB repair, contain a high cellular content of manganous ions (Mn²⁺) in high-symmetry (H) antioxidant complexes with small metabolites (e.g., orthophosphate, peptides), which exhibit narrow EPR signals (small zero-field splitting).

SUBMITTER: Sharma A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5676931 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature