The bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans can withstand extreme levels of radioactivity and other stresses. In 2009 it was reported that nitric oxide plays an important role in this bacteria's recovery from radiation exposure: The gas is required for division and proliferation after DNA damage has been repaired. A gene that increases nitric oxide production after UV radiation was described, and in the absence of this gene the bacteria were still able to repair DNA damage, but would not grow.[71]