1. PprA protein
The gene product of pprA discovered from D. radiodurans. We designate PprA as a pleiotropic protein promoting DNA repair.
2. DNA strand break
A term referring to the dissociation between a phosphate group and a hydroxyl group in DNA backbone structure. Exogenous agents such as radiation as well as endogenous triggers such as DNA nuclease can cause DNA strand break. DNA double strand break is a particularly serious form of DNA damage and has an especially deleterious effect on cells. D. radiodurans can mend over 100 double strand breaks of genomic DNA, whereas just a few double strand breaks are lethal in nearly all other living organisms.
3. Binding to DNA and repair of DNA
A kind of DNA repair protein functions in recognizing, binding, and repairing DNA strand breaks. PprA protein preferentially binds to DNA strand breaks, and thereby stimulates succedent DNA repair process at a high efficiency. Thus, PprA protein plays an important role in the radioresistance of D. radiodurans.
4. DNA repair reagent
DNA cloning is one of the methods most frequently used in genetic engineering. DNA ligase is required to clone DNA fragment to a vector DNA. Therefore, many biotech reagent manufacturers sell DNA ligase as a fundamental reagent. The newly released DNA repair reagent using the PprA technology is specialized in ligation of PCR product and blunt-ended DNA fragment whose ligation efficiencies are generally low, and provides 10-fold increase in ligation efficiency compared to conventional products.
5. Gamma irradiation facilities and the TIARA facility
Cobalt 60 gamma irradiation facilities located in Takasaki Advanced Radiation Research Institute are the unique facilities supporting irradiation at a broad range of dose rates (from 0.04 Gy to approx. 20 kGy per hour) in Japan. The facilities are used in a wide range of fields including industry, agriculture, and environmental technology.
TIARA (Takasaki Ion accelerators for Advanced Radiation Application) facility is equipped with four kinds of ion accelerators (a cyclotron, a tandem accelerator, a single-ended accelerator, and an ion implanter). The TIARA facility can provide ion beams at a broad range of energy (from tens keV to hundreds of MeV), perfect for most advanced materials science and biotechnology as well as industrial applications.
