General Information: This organism is a coccoid bacterium originally isolated from a high-level radioactive waste cell at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carolina, USA, in 2002. Radiation-resistant bacterium. Similarly to Deinococcus radiodurans, K. radiotolerans exhibits a high degree of resistance to ionizing gamma-radiation. Cells are also highly resistant to dessication. Kineococcus-like 16S rRNA gene sequences have been reported from the Mojave desert and other arid environments where these bacteria seem to be ubiquitous. Because of its high resistance to ionizing radiation and desiccation, K. radiotolerans has potential use in applications involving in situ biodegradation of problematic organic contaminants from highly radioactive environments. Moreover, comparative functional genomic characterization of this species and other known radiotolerant bacteria such as Deinococcus radiodurans and Rubrobacter xylanophilus will shed light onto the strategies these bacteria use for survival in high radiation environments, as well as the evolutionary origins of radioresistance and their highly efficient DNA repair machinery. This organism produces an orange carotenoid-like pigment. Cell growth occurs between 11-41 degresss C, pH 5-9, and in the presence of <5% NaCl and <20% glucose. Carbohydrates and alcohols are primary growth substrates.