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Bratkic A, Jazbec A, Toplak N, Koren S, Lojen S, Tinta T, Kostanjsek R, Snoj L. The colonization of an irradiated environment: the case of microbial biofilm in a nuclear reactor. Int J Radiat Biol 2024; 100:108-121. [PMID: 37812192 DOI: 10.1080/09553002.2023.2258206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
The investigation of the microbial community change in the biofilm, growing on the walls of a containment tank of TRIGA nuclear reactor revealed a thriving community in an oligotrophic and heavy-metal-laden environment, periodically exposed to high pulses of ionizing radiation (IR). We observed a vertical IR resistance/tolerance stratification of microbial genera, with higher resistance and less diversity closer to the reactor core. One of the isolated Bacillus strains survived 15 kGy of combined gamma and proton radiation, which was surprising. It appears that there is a succession of genera that colonizes or re-colonizes new or IR-sterilized surfaces, led by Bacilli and/or Actinobacteria, upon which a photoautotrophic and diazotrophic community is established within a fortnight. The temporal progression of the biofilm community was evaluated also as a proxy for microbial response to radiological contamination events. This indicated there is a need for better dose-response models that could describe microbial response to contamination events. Overall, TRIGA nuclear reactor offers a unique insight into IR microbiology and provides useful means to study relevant microbial dose-thresholds during and after radiological contamination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arne Bratkic
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Anze Jazbec
- Reactor Physics Division, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | | | | | - Sonja Lojen
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Tinkara Tinta
- Marine Biology Station Piran, National Institute of Biology, Piran, Slovenia
| | - Rok Kostanjsek
- Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Luka Snoj
- Reactor Physics Division, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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2
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Foster L, Boothman C, Harrison S, Jenkinson P, Pittman JK, Lloyd JR. Identification of algal rich microbial blooms in the Sellafield Pile Fuel Storage Pond and the application of ultrasonic treatment to control the formation of blooms. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1261801. [PMID: 37860139 PMCID: PMC10582928 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1261801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The presence of microorganisms in a range of nuclear facilities has been known for many years. In this study the microbial community inhabiting the Pile Fuel Storage Pond (PFSP), which is a legacy open-aired facility on the Sellafield nuclear site, Cumbria, UK, was determined to help target microbial bloom management strategies in this facility. The PFSP is currently undergoing decommissioning and the development of prolonged dense microbial blooms reduces the visibility within the water. Such impairment in the pond water visibility can lead to delays in pond operations, which also has financial implications. Efforts to control the microbial population within the PFSP are ongoing, with the installation of ultrasonic treatment units. Here next generation sequencing techniques focussing on broad targets for both eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms were used to identify the microbial community. On-site monitoring of photosynthetic pigments indicated when microbial blooms formed and that eukaryotic algae were most likely to be responsible for these events. The sequencing data suggested that the blooms were dominated by members of the class Chrysophyceae, a group of golden algae, while evidence of cyanobacteria and other photosynthetic bacteria was limited, further supporting eukaryotic organisms causing the blooms. The results of sequencing data from 2018 was used to inform a change in the operational settings of the ultrasonic units, while monitoring of the microbial community and photosynthetic pigments trends was extended. Since the changes were made to the ultrasonic treatment, the visibility in the pond was significantly improved, with an absence of a spring bloom in 2020 and an overall reduction in the number of days lost due to microbial blooms annually. This work extends our knowledge of the diversity of microbes able to colonise nuclear fuel storage ponds, and also suggests that sequencing data can help to optimise the performance of ultrasonic treatments, to control algal proliferation in the PFSP facility and other inhospitable engineered systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lynn Foster
- Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal and Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Christopher Boothman
- Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal and Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Scott Harrison
- National Nuclear Laboratory, Central Laboratory, Sellafield, Seascale, United Kingdom
| | | | - Jon K. Pittman
- Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal and Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan R. Lloyd
- Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal and Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
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3
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Petit P, Hayoun K, Alpha-Bazin B, Armengaud J, Rivasseau C. First Isolation and Characterization of Bacteria from the Core's Cooling Pool of an Operating Nuclear Reactor. Microorganisms 2023; 11:1871. [PMID: 37630434 PMCID: PMC10456712 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11081871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Microbial life can thrive in the most inhospitable places, such as nuclear facilities with high levels of ionizing radiation. Using direct meta-analyses, we have previously highlighted the presence of bacteria belonging to twenty-five different genera in the highly radioactive water of the cooling pool of an operating nuclear reactor core. In the present study, we further characterize this specific environment by isolating and identifying some of these microorganisms and assessing their radiotolerance and their ability to decontaminate uranium. This metal is one of the major radioactive contaminants of anthropogenic origin in the environment due to the nuclear and mining industries and agricultural practices. The microorganisms isolated when sampling was performed during the reactor operation consisted mainly of Actinobacteria and Firmicutes, whereas Proteobacteria were dominant when sampling was performed during the reactor shutdown. We investigated their tolerance to gamma radiation under different conditions. Most of the bacterial strains studied were able to survive 200 Gy irradiation. Some were even able to withstand 1 kGy, with four of them showing more than 10% survival at this dose. We also assessed their uranium uptake capacity. Seven strains were able to remove almost all the uranium from a 5 µM solution. Four strains displayed high efficiency in decontaminating a 50 µM uranium solution, demonstrating promising potential for use in bioremediation processes in environments contaminated by radionuclides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pauline Petit
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, IRIG, F-38000 Grenoble, France;
| | - Karim Hayoun
- Département Médicaments et Technologies pour la Santé (DMTS), Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, INRAE, SPI, F-30200 Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France; (K.H.); (B.A.-B.); (J.A.)
- Laboratoire Innovations Technologiques pour la Détection et le Diagnostic (Li2D), Université de Montpellier, F-30207 Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France
| | - Béatrice Alpha-Bazin
- Département Médicaments et Technologies pour la Santé (DMTS), Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, INRAE, SPI, F-30200 Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France; (K.H.); (B.A.-B.); (J.A.)
| | - Jean Armengaud
- Département Médicaments et Technologies pour la Santé (DMTS), Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, INRAE, SPI, F-30200 Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France; (K.H.); (B.A.-B.); (J.A.)
| | - Corinne Rivasseau
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, IRIG, F-38000 Grenoble, France;
- Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, F-91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
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4
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McCourt RM, Lewis LA, Strother PK, Delwiche CF, Wickett NJ, de Vries J, Bowman JL. Green land: Multiple perspectives on green algal evolution and the earliest land plants. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2023; 110:e16175. [PMID: 37247371 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.16175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2022] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Green plants, broadly defined as green algae and the land plants (together, Viridiplantae), constitute the primary eukaryotic lineage that successfully colonized Earth's emergent landscape. Members of various clades of green plants have independently made the transition from fully aquatic to subaerial habitats many times throughout Earth's history. The transition, from unicells or simple filaments to complex multicellular plant bodies with functionally differentiated tissues and organs, was accompanied by innovations built upon a genetic and phenotypic toolkit that have served aquatic green phototrophs successfully for at least a billion years. These innovations opened an enormous array of new, drier places to live on the planet and resulted in a huge diversity of land plants that have dominated terrestrial ecosystems over the past 500 million years. This review examines the greening of the land from several perspectives, from paleontology to phylogenomics, to water stress responses and the genetic toolkit shared by green algae and plants, to the genomic evolution of the sporophyte generation. We summarize advances on disparate fronts in elucidating this important event in the evolution of the biosphere and the lacunae in our understanding of it. We present the process not as a step-by-step advancement from primitive green cells to an inevitable success of embryophytes, but rather as a process of adaptations and exaptations that allowed multiple clades of green plants, with various combinations of morphological and physiological terrestrialized traits, to become diverse and successful inhabitants of the land habitats of Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard M McCourt
- Department of Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, 19118, USA
| | - Louise A Lewis
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA
| | - Paul K Strother
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Boston College Weston Observatory, 381 Concord Road, Weston, MA, 02493, USA
| | - Charles F Delwiche
- Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA
| | - Norman J Wickett
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, 132 Long Hall, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA
| | - Jan de Vries
- Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, Department of Applied Bioinformatics, University of Göttingen Goldschmidtstr. 1, Göttingen, 37077, Germany
| | - John L Bowman
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton Campus, Melbourne, Victoria, 3800, Australia
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5
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Pible O, Petit P, Steinmetz G, Rivasseau C, Armengaud J. Taxonomical composition and functional analysis of biofilms sampled from a nuclear storage pool. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1148976. [PMID: 37125163 PMCID: PMC10133526 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1148976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Sampling small amounts of biofilm from harsh environments such as the biofilm present on the walls of a radioactive material storage pool offers few analytical options if taxonomic characterization and estimation of the different biomass contributions are the objectives. Although 16S/18S rRNA amplification on extracted DNA and sequencing is the most widely applied method, its reliability in terms of quantitation has been questioned as yields can be species-dependent. Here, we propose a tandem-mass spectrometry proteotyping approach consisting of acquiring peptide data and interpreting then against a generalist database without any a priori. The peptide sequence information is transformed into useful taxonomical information that allows to obtain the different biomass contributions at different taxonomical ranks. This new methodology is applied for the first time to analyze the composition of biofilms from minute quantities of material collected from a pool used to store radioactive sources in a nuclear facility. For these biofilms, we report the identification of three genera, namely Sphingomonas, Caulobacter, and Acidovorax, and their functional characterization by metaproteomics which shows that these organisms are metabolic active. Differential expression of Gene Ontology GOslim terms between the two main microorganisms highlights their metabolic specialization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivier Pible
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, INRAE, Département Médicaments et Technologies pour la Santé (DMTS), SPI, Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France
| | - Pauline Petit
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, IRIG, Grenoble, France
| | - Gérard Steinmetz
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, INRAE, Département Médicaments et Technologies pour la Santé (DMTS), SPI, Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France
| | - Corinne Rivasseau
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, IRIG, Grenoble, France
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Jean Armengaud
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, INRAE, Département Médicaments et Technologies pour la Santé (DMTS), SPI, Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France
- *Correspondence: Jean Armengaud,
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6
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Safonov AV, Ognistaya AV, Boldyrev KA, Zelenina DA, Bondareva LG, Tananaev IG. The Role of Phytoplankton in Self-Purification of Water Bodies with Radionuclide Pollutants. RADIOCHEMISTRY 2022. [DOI: 10.1134/s1066362222020023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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7
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Alcántara-Martínez N, Figueroa-Martínez F, Rivera-Cabrera F, Volke-Sepúlveda T. An unexpected guest: a green microalga associated with the arsenic-tolerant shrub Acacia farnesiana. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2022; 98:6565283. [PMID: 35394028 DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiac041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2021] [Revised: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 04/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The best-known plant endophytes include mainly fungi and bacteria, but there are also a few records of microalgae growing endophytically in vascular land plants, some of which belong to the genus Coccomyxa. In this study, we isolated a single-celled photosynthetic microorganism from the arsenic-tolerant shrub Acacia farnesiana, thus we hypothesized that it is an endophytic arsenic-tolerant microalga. The microorganism was identified as belonging to the genus Coccomyxa, and the observation of algal cells within the root tissues strongly suggests its endophytic nature. The alga's tolerance to arsenate (AsV) and its influence on the fitness of A. farnesiana in the presence of AsV were evaluated. Coccomyxa sp. can tolerate up to 2000 µM of AsV for periods shorter than 10 days, however, AsV-tolerance decreased significantly in longer exposure periods. The association with the microalga increased the pigment content in aboveground tissues of A. farnesiana seedlings exposed to AsV for 50 days, without changes in plant growth or arsenic accumulation. This work describes the association, probably endophytic, between an angiosperm and a microalga, confirming the ability of the genus Coccomyxa to form associations with land plants and broadening the known variety of plant endophytes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nemi Alcántara-Martínez
- Department of Compared Biology, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 3000, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán 04510, Mexico City, MEXICO
| | - Francisco Figueroa-Martínez
- CONACyT Research Fellow, Department of Biotechnology, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa. San Rafael Atlixco 186, Col. Vicentina, Iztapalapa 09340, Mexico City. MEXICO
| | - Fernando Rivera-Cabrera
- Department of Health Sciences, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa. San Rafael Atlixco 186, Col. Vicentina, Iztapalapa 09340, Mexico City. MEXICO
| | - Tania Volke-Sepúlveda
- CONACyT Research Fellow, Department of Biotechnology, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa. San Rafael Atlixco 186, Col. Vicentina, Iztapalapa 09340, Mexico City. MEXICO
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8
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Anderson J, Lévesque N, Caron F, Beckett P, Spiers GA. A review on the use of lichens as a biomonitoring tool for environmental radioactivity. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY 2022; 243:106797. [PMID: 34968948 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2021.106797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Revised: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 12/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Lichens have been widely used as a biomonitoring tool to record the distribution and concentration of airborne radioactivity and pollutants such as metals. There are limitations, however: although pollutants can be preserved in lichen tissues for long periods of time, not all radioactive and inert elements behave similarly. The chemical species of elements at the source, once captured, and the mode of storage within lichens play a role in this biomonitoring tool. Lichens are a symbiotic association of an algal or cyanobacterial partner (photobiont) with a fungal host (mycobiont). Lichens grow independently of the host substrates, including rocks, soils, trees and human-made structures. Lacking a root system, lichen nutrient or contaminant uptake is mostly through direct atmospheric inputs, mainly as wet and dry deposition. As lichens grow in a large variety of environments and are resilient in harsh climates, they are adapted to capture and retain nutrients from airborne sources. The context of this review partially relates to future deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs) and mining in remote areas of Canada. SMRs have been identified as a future source of energy (electricity and heat) for remote off-grid mines, potentially replacing diesel fuel generation facilities. For licensing purposes, SMR deployment and mine development requires capabilities to monitor background contaminants (natural radioactivity and metals) before, during and after deployment, including for decommissioning and removal. Key aspects reviewed herein include: (1) how lichens have been used in the past to monitor radioactivity; (2) radiocontaminants capture and storage in lichens; (3) longevity of radiocontaminant storage in lichen tissues; and (4) limitations of lichens use for monitoring radiocontaminants and selected metals.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Anderson
- Mirarco Mining Innovation and Laurentian University, 935 Ramsey Lake Rd., Sudbury, ON, P3E 2C6, Canada; Harquail School of Earth Sciences, Laurentian University, 935 Ramsey Lake Rd., Sudbury, ON, P3E 2C6, Canada
| | - N Lévesque
- Mirarco Mining Innovation and Laurentian University, 935 Ramsey Lake Rd., Sudbury, ON, P3E 2C6, Canada; School of Biological, Chemical & Forensic Sciences, Laurentian University, 935 Ramsey Lake Rd., Sudbury, ON, P3E 2C6, Canada
| | - F Caron
- Mirarco Mining Innovation and Laurentian University, 935 Ramsey Lake Rd., Sudbury, ON, P3E 2C6, Canada.
| | - P Beckett
- Vale Living with Lakes Centre, Laurentian University, 935 Ramsey Lake Rd., Sudbury, ON, P3E 2C6, Canada
| | - G A Spiers
- Harquail School of Earth Sciences, Laurentian University, 935 Ramsey Lake Rd., Sudbury, ON, P3E 2C6, Canada
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9
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Van Eesbeeck V, Props R, Mysara M, Petit PCM, Rivasseau C, Armengaud J, Monsieurs P, Mahillon J, Leys N. Cyclical Patterns Affect Microbial Dynamics in the Water Basin of a Nuclear Research Reactor. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:744115. [PMID: 34721343 PMCID: PMC8555696 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.744115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The BR2 nuclear research reactor in Mol, Belgium, runs in successive phases of operation (cycles) and shutdown, whereby a water basin surrounding the reactor vessel undergoes periodic changes in physico-chemical parameters such as flow rate, temperature, and radiation. The aim of this study was to explore the microbial community in this unique environment and to investigate its long-term dynamics using a 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing approach. Results from two sampling campaigns spanning several months showed a clear shift in community profiles: cycles were mostly dominated by two Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) assigned to unclassified Gammaproteobacterium and Pelomonas, whereas shutdowns were dominated by an OTU assigned to Methylobacterium. Although 1 year apart, both campaigns showed similar results, indicating that the system remained stable over this 2-year period. The community shifts were linked with changes in physico-chemical parameters by Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS) and correlation analyses. In addition, radiation was hypothesized to cause a decrease in cell number, whereas temperature had the opposite effect. Chemoautotrophic use of H2 and dead cell recycling are proposed to be used as a strategies for nutrient retrieval in this extremely oligotrophic environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valérie Van Eesbeeck
- Microbiology Unit, Environment, Health and Safety Department, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK CEN), Mol, Belgium.,Food and Environmental Microbiology Laboratory, Earth and Life Institute, Catholic University of Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Ruben Props
- Microbiology Unit, Environment, Health and Safety Department, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK CEN), Mol, Belgium.,Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Mohamed Mysara
- Microbiology Unit, Environment, Health and Safety Department, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK CEN), Mol, Belgium
| | - Pauline C M Petit
- Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, Paris, France
| | - Corinne Rivasseau
- Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, Paris, France
| | - Jean Armengaud
- Technological Innovations for Detection and Diagnosis Laboratory, CEA, Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France
| | - Pieter Monsieurs
- Protozoology Research Group, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITG), Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Jacques Mahillon
- Food and Environmental Microbiology Laboratory, Earth and Life Institute, Catholic University of Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Natalie Leys
- Microbiology Unit, Environment, Health and Safety Department, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK CEN), Mol, Belgium
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10
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Zhong L, Lei J, Deng J, Lei Z, Lei L, Xu X. Existing and potential decontamination methods for radioactively contaminated metals-A Review. PROGRESS IN NUCLEAR ENERGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pnucene.2021.103854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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11
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Fais G, Malavasi V, Scano P, Soru S, Caboni P, Cao G. Metabolomics and lipid profile analysis of Coccomyxa melkonianii SCCA 048. Extremophiles 2021; 25:357-368. [PMID: 34057605 PMCID: PMC8254698 DOI: 10.1007/s00792-021-01234-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
With an unsupervised GC-MS metabolomics approach, polar metabolite changes of the microalgae Coccomyxa melkonianii SCCA 048 grown under standard conditions for seven weeks were studied. C. melkonianii was sampled at the Rio Irvi River, in the mining site of Montevecchio-Ingurtosu (Sardinia, Italy), which is severely contaminated by heavy metals and shows high concentrations of sulfates. The partial-least-square (PLS) analysis of the GC-MS data indicated that growth of C. melkonianii was characterized by an increase of the levels of threonic acid, myo-inositol, malic acid, and fumaric acid. Furthermore, at the sixth week of exponential phase the lipid fingerprint of C. melkonianii was studied by LC-QTOF-MS. C. melkonianii lipid extract characterized through an iterative MS/MS analysis showed the following percent levels: 61.34 ± 0.60% for triacylglycerols (TAG); 11.55 ± 0.09% for diacylglyceryltrimethyl homoserines (DGTS), 11.34 ± 0.10% for sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerols (SQDG) and, 5.29 ± 0.04% for lysodiacylglyceryltrimethyl homoserines (LDGTS). Noteworthy, we were able to annotate different fatty acid ester of hydroxyl fatty acid, such as FAHFA (18:1_20:3), FAHFA (18:2_20:4), FAHFA (18:0_20:2), and FAHFA (18:1_18:0), with relevant biological activity. These approaches can be useful to study the biochemistry of this extremophile algae in the view of its potential exploitation in the phycoremediation of polluted mining areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giacomo Fais
- Interdepartmental Centre of Environmental Science and Engineering (CINSA), University of Cagliari, via San Giorgio 12, 09124, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Veronica Malavasi
- Interdepartmental Centre of Environmental Science and Engineering (CINSA), University of Cagliari, via San Giorgio 12, 09124, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Paola Scano
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, 09124, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Santina Soru
- Interdepartmental Centre of Environmental Science and Engineering (CINSA), University of Cagliari, via San Giorgio 12, 09124, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Pierluigi Caboni
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, 09124, Cagliari, Italy.
| | - Giacomo Cao
- Interdepartmental Centre of Environmental Science and Engineering (CINSA), University of Cagliari, via San Giorgio 12, 09124, Cagliari, Italy.,Department of Mechanical, Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Cagliari, piazza d'Armi, 09123, Cagliari, Italy
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12
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Vojvodić S, Luković JD, Zechmann B, Jevtović M, Pristov JB, Stanić M, Lizzul AM, Pittman JK, Spasojević I. The effects of ionizing radiation on the structure and antioxidative and metal-binding capacity of the cell wall of microalga Chlorella sorokiniana. CHEMOSPHERE 2020; 260:127553. [PMID: 32653748 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.127553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Revised: 06/20/2020] [Accepted: 06/28/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The impact of ionizing radiation on microorganisms such as microalgae is a topic of increasing importance for understanding the dynamics of aquatic ecosystems in response to environmental radiation, and for the development of efficient approaches for bioremediation of mining and nuclear power plants wastewaters. Currently, nothing is known about the effects of ionizing radiation on the microalgal cell wall, which represents the first line of defence against chemical and physical environmental stresses. Using various microscopy, spectroscopy and biochemical techniques we show that the unicellular alga Chlorella sorokiniana elicits a fast response to ionizing radiation. Within one day after irradiation with doses of 1-5 Gy, the fibrilar layer of the cell wall became thicker, the fraction of uronic acids was higher, and the capacity to remove the main reactive product of water radiolysis increased. In addition, the isolated cell wall fraction showed significant binding capacity for Cu2+, Mn2+, and Cr3+. The irradiation further increased the binding capacity for Cu2+, which appears to be mainly bound to glucosamine moieties within a chitosan-like polymer in the outer rigid layer of the wall. These results imply that the cell wall represents a dynamic structure that is involved in the protective response of microalgae to ionizing radiation. It appears that microalgae may exhibit a significant control of metal mobility in aquatic ecosystems via biosorption by the cell wall matrix.
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Affiliation(s)
- Snežana Vojvodić
- Department of Life Sciences, Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, University of Belgrade, Kneza Višeslava 1, 11030, Belgrade, Serbia.
| | - Jelena Danilović Luković
- Department of Life Sciences, Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, University of Belgrade, Kneza Višeslava 1, 11030, Belgrade, Serbia; Institute for Application of Nuclear Energy, University of Belgrade, Banatska 31b, 11080, Belgrade-Zemun, Serbia.
| | - Bernd Zechmann
- Center for Microscopy and Imaging, Baylor University, One Bear Place 97046, Waco, TX, USA.
| | - Mima Jevtović
- Department of Life Sciences, Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, University of Belgrade, Kneza Višeslava 1, 11030, Belgrade, Serbia; Faculty of Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Studentski Trg 12-16, 11001, Belgrade, Serbia.
| | - Jelena Bogdanović Pristov
- Department of Life Sciences, Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, University of Belgrade, Kneza Višeslava 1, 11030, Belgrade, Serbia.
| | - Marina Stanić
- Department of Life Sciences, Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, University of Belgrade, Kneza Višeslava 1, 11030, Belgrade, Serbia.
| | | | - Jon K Pittman
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, University of Manchester, Michael Smith Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK.
| | - Ivan Spasojević
- Department of Life Sciences, Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, University of Belgrade, Kneza Višeslava 1, 11030, Belgrade, Serbia.
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13
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Petit PCM, Pible O, Eesbeeck VV, Alban C, Steinmetz G, Mysara M, Monsieurs P, Armengaud J, Rivasseau C. Direct Meta-Analyses Reveal Unexpected Microbial Life in the Highly Radioactive Water of an Operating Nuclear Reactor Core. Microorganisms 2020; 8:E1857. [PMID: 33255667 PMCID: PMC7760952 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms8121857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Revised: 11/16/2020] [Accepted: 11/23/2020] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The pools of nuclear reactor facilities constitute harsh environments for life, bathed with ionizing radiation, filled with demineralized water and containing toxic radioactive elements. The very few studies published to date have explored water pools used to store spent nuclear fuels. Due to access restrictions and strong handling constraints related to the high radioactivity level, nothing is presently known about life in water pools that directly cool nuclear cores. In this work, we investigated the microbial communities in the cooling pool of the French Osiris nuclear reactor using direct meta-omics approaches, namely, DNA metabarcoding and proteotyping based on 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing and on peptide analysis, respectively. We identified 25 genera in the highly radioactive core water supply during operation with radionuclide activity higher than 3 × 109 Bq/m3. The prevailing genera Variovorax and Sphingomonas at operation were supplanted by Methylobacterium, Asanoa, and Streptomyces during shutdown. Variovorax might use dihydrogen produced by water radiolysis as an energy source.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pauline C. M. Petit
- Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA), CNRS, INRAE, Université Grenoble Alpes, F-38054 Grenoble, France; (P.C.M.P.); (C.A.)
| | - Olivier Pible
- Département Médicaments et Technologies pour la Santé (DMTS), CEA, INRAE, SPI, Université Paris-Saclay, F-30200 Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France; (O.P.); (G.S.); (J.A.)
| | - Valérie Van Eesbeeck
- Microbiology Unit, The Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK•CEN), Boeretang 200, B-2400 Mol, Belgium; (V.V.E.); (M.M.); (P.M.)
| | - Claude Alban
- Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA), CNRS, INRAE, Université Grenoble Alpes, F-38054 Grenoble, France; (P.C.M.P.); (C.A.)
| | - Gérard Steinmetz
- Département Médicaments et Technologies pour la Santé (DMTS), CEA, INRAE, SPI, Université Paris-Saclay, F-30200 Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France; (O.P.); (G.S.); (J.A.)
| | - Mohamed Mysara
- Microbiology Unit, The Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK•CEN), Boeretang 200, B-2400 Mol, Belgium; (V.V.E.); (M.M.); (P.M.)
| | - Pieter Monsieurs
- Microbiology Unit, The Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK•CEN), Boeretang 200, B-2400 Mol, Belgium; (V.V.E.); (M.M.); (P.M.)
| | - Jean Armengaud
- Département Médicaments et Technologies pour la Santé (DMTS), CEA, INRAE, SPI, Université Paris-Saclay, F-30200 Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France; (O.P.); (G.S.); (J.A.)
| | - Corinne Rivasseau
- Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA), CNRS, INRAE, Université Grenoble Alpes, F-38054 Grenoble, France; (P.C.M.P.); (C.A.)
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14
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Ruiz-Lopez S, Foster L, Boothman C, Cole N, Morris K, Lloyd JR. Identification of a Stable Hydrogen-Driven Microbiome in a Highly Radioactive Storage Facility on the Sellafield Site. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:587556. [PMID: 33329459 PMCID: PMC7732693 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.587556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2020] [Accepted: 10/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of nuclear power has been a significant part of the United Kingdom’s energy portfolio with the Sellafield site being used for power production and more recently reprocessing and decommissioning of spent nuclear fuel activities. Before being reprocessed, spent nuclear fuel is stored in water ponds with significant levels of background radioactivity and in high alkalinity (to minimize fuel corrosion). Despite these challenging conditions, the presence of microbial communities has been detected. To gain further insight into the microbial communities present in extreme environments, an indoor, hyper-alkaline, oligotrophic, and radioactive spent fuel storage pond (INP) located on the Sellafield site was analyzed. Water samples were collected from sample points within the INP complex, and also the purge water feeding tank (FT) that supplies water to the pond, and were screened for the presence of the 16S and 18S rRNA genes to inform sequencing requirements over a period of 30 months. Only 16S rRNA genes were successfully amplified for sequencing, suggesting that the microbial communities in the INP were dominated by prokaryotes. Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) analysis targeting 16S rRNA genes suggested that bacterial cells in the order of 104–106 mL–1 were present in the samples, with loadings rising with time. Next generation Illumina MiSeq sequencing was performed to identify the dominant microorganisms at eight sampling times. The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis suggested that 70% and 91% from of the OTUs samples, from the FT and INP respectively, belonged to the phylum Proteobacteria, mainly from the alpha and beta subclasses. The remaining OTUs were assigned primarily to the phyla Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and, Cyanobacteria. Overall the most abundant genera identified were Hydrogenophaga, Curvibacter, Porphyrobacter, Rhodoferax, Polaromonas, Sediminibacterium, Roseococcus, and Sphingomonas. The presence of organisms most closely related to Hydrogenophaga species in the INP areas, suggests the metabolism of hydrogen as an energy source, most likely linked to hydrolysis of water caused by the stored fuel. Isolation of axenic cultures using a range of minimal and rich media was also attempted, but only relatively minor components (from the phylum Bacteroidetes) of the pond water communities were obtained, emphasizing the importance of DNA-based, not culture-dependent techniques, for assessing the microbiome of nuclear facilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharon Ruiz-Lopez
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester (UoM), Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Lynn Foster
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester (UoM), Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Chris Boothman
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester (UoM), Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Nick Cole
- Sellafield Ltd., Warrington, United Kingdom
| | - Katherine Morris
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester (UoM), Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan R Lloyd
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester (UoM), Manchester, United Kingdom
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15
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Isola M, Soru S, Loy F, Malavasi V, Isola R, Cao G. Suitability of the thawed algae for transmission electron microscopy study: Ultrastructural investigation on Coccomyxa melkonianii SCCA 048. Microsc Res Tech 2020; 84:675-681. [PMID: 33094882 DOI: 10.1002/jemt.23626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2020] [Accepted: 10/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Morphological and ultrastructural investigations are crucial for the identification and characterization of species such as microalgae, microorganisms that greatly change their morphology and physiology during their life cycle. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is an excellent tool for the ultrastructural observation of cells and their components. To date, limited ultrastructural studies have been carried out on microalgae, due to the difficulties in sample preparation. The aim of this work is to establish an appropriate fixation method that allows to better preserve the algal ultrastructure and test the suitability of the thawed algae for TEM observation. Fresh and thawed algae (Coccomyxa melkonianii SCCA 048) were fixed with different TEM fixation methods (a mix of glutaraldehyde and paraformaldehyde for several incubation times, sometimes preceded by a prefixation in cold methanol). The ultrastructural images obtained from fresh algae were compared to those obtained from frozen biomass. The best morphological results were achieved by fixing fresh algae in 1% paraformaldehyde and 1.25% glutaraldehyde for 5 hr. Pretreating with frozen methyl alcohol reduced fixation time to 2 hr. Both fresh and frozen algae ultrastructure were rather well preserved also with 1% paraformaldehyde and 1.25% glutaraldehyde for 2 hr. Ultrastuctural morphological images of the thawed algae demonstrated that also frozen samples can be used in TEM research, widening specimen suitability by means of this technique.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michela Isola
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, Monserrato, Italy
| | - Santina Soru
- Interdepartmental Center of Environmental Science and Engineering (CINSA), University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Francesco Loy
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, Monserrato, Italy
| | - Veronica Malavasi
- Interdepartmental Center of Environmental Science and Engineering (CINSA), University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Raffaella Isola
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, Monserrato, Italy
| | - Giacomo Cao
- Interdepartmental Center of Environmental Science and Engineering (CINSA), University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.,Department of Mechanical, Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
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16
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Hayoun K, Pible O, Petit P, Allain F, Jouffret V, Culotta K, Rivasseau C, Armengaud J, Alpha-Bazin B. Proteotyping Environmental Microorganisms by Phylopeptidomics: Case Study Screening Water from a Radioactive Material Storage Pool. Microorganisms 2020; 8:E1525. [PMID: 33020444 PMCID: PMC7599590 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms8101525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2020] [Revised: 09/30/2020] [Accepted: 10/01/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The microbial diversity encompassed by the environmental biosphere is largely unexplored, although it represents an extensive source of new knowledge and potentially of novel enzymatic catalysts for biotechnological applications. To determine the taxonomy of microorganisms, proteotyping by tandem mass spectrometry has proved its efficiency. Its latest extension, phylopeptidomics, adds a biomass quantitation perspective for mixtures of microorganisms. Here, we present an application of phylopeptidomics to rapidly and sensitively screen microorganisms sampled from an industrial environment, i.e., a pool where radioactive material is stored. The power of this methodology is demonstrated through the identification of both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, whether as pure isolates or present as mixtures or consortia. In this study, we established accurate taxonomical identification of environmental prokaryotes belonging to the Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria phyla, as well as eukaryotes from the Ascomycota phylum. The results presented illustrate the potential of tandem mass spectrometry proteotyping, in particular phylopeptidomics, to screen for and rapidly identify microorganisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karim Hayoun
- Département Médicaments et Technologies pour la Santé (DMTS), CEA, INRAE, SPI, Université Paris Saclay, F-30200 Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France; (K.H.); (O.P.); (F.A.); (V.J.); (K.C.); (B.A.-B.)
- Laboratoire Innovations technologiques pour la Détection et le Diagnostic (Li2D), Université de Montpellier, F-30207 Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France
| | - Olivier Pible
- Département Médicaments et Technologies pour la Santé (DMTS), CEA, INRAE, SPI, Université Paris Saclay, F-30200 Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France; (K.H.); (O.P.); (F.A.); (V.J.); (K.C.); (B.A.-B.)
| | - Pauline Petit
- CEA, CNRS, INRA, Université Grenoble Alpes, Institut de Biosciences et Biotechnologies de Grenoble, UMR5168, F-38000 Grenoble, France;
| | - François Allain
- Département Médicaments et Technologies pour la Santé (DMTS), CEA, INRAE, SPI, Université Paris Saclay, F-30200 Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France; (K.H.); (O.P.); (F.A.); (V.J.); (K.C.); (B.A.-B.)
| | - Virginie Jouffret
- Département Médicaments et Technologies pour la Santé (DMTS), CEA, INRAE, SPI, Université Paris Saclay, F-30200 Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France; (K.H.); (O.P.); (F.A.); (V.J.); (K.C.); (B.A.-B.)
| | - Karen Culotta
- Département Médicaments et Technologies pour la Santé (DMTS), CEA, INRAE, SPI, Université Paris Saclay, F-30200 Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France; (K.H.); (O.P.); (F.A.); (V.J.); (K.C.); (B.A.-B.)
| | - Corinne Rivasseau
- CEA-Saclay, DRF/Joliot/SB2SM/BBC, I2BC, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France;
| | - Jean Armengaud
- Département Médicaments et Technologies pour la Santé (DMTS), CEA, INRAE, SPI, Université Paris Saclay, F-30200 Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France; (K.H.); (O.P.); (F.A.); (V.J.); (K.C.); (B.A.-B.)
| | - Béatrice Alpha-Bazin
- Département Médicaments et Technologies pour la Santé (DMTS), CEA, INRAE, SPI, Université Paris Saclay, F-30200 Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France; (K.H.); (O.P.); (F.A.); (V.J.); (K.C.); (B.A.-B.)
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17
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Foster L, Boothman C, Ruiz-Lopez S, Boshoff G, Jenkinson P, Sigee D, Pittman JK, Morris K, Lloyd JR. Microbial bloom formation in a high pH spent nuclear fuel pond. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 720:137515. [PMID: 32325573 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2019] [Revised: 02/21/2020] [Accepted: 02/21/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Microorganisms are able to colonise a wide range of extreme environments, including nuclear facilities. In this study, the First Generation Magnox Storage Pond (FGMSP) a high pH, legacy spent nuclear fuel pond (SNFP) situated at Sellafield, Cumbria, UK, was studied. Despite the inhospitable conditions in the FGMSP, microorganisms can cause "blooms" within the facility which to date have not been studied. These microbial blooms significantly reduce visibility in the engineered facility, disrupting fuel retrieval operations and slowing decommissioning. The microbial community colonising the pond during two microbial bloom periods was determined by using physiological measurements and high throughput next generation sequencing techniques. In situ probes within the ponds targeting photosynthetic pigments indicated a cyanobacterial bloom event. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene data suggested that a single cyanobacterial genus was dominant during the bloom events, which was most closely related to Pseudanabaena sp. Comparisons between the microbial community of FGMSP and an adjacent SNFP that is periodically purged into the FGMSP, showed different community profiles. Data confirm the onset of the microbial blooms occurred when the pond purge rate was reduced, and blooms could be controlled by re-establishing the purging regime. The presence of Pseudanabaena sp. that can colonise the pond and dominate during bloom periods is notable since they have received little attention for their role in cyanobacterial bloom formation. This work also informs bioremediation efforts to treat waters contaminated with radionuclides, which could benefit from the use of cyanobacteria able to tolerate extreme environments and accumulate priority radionuclides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lynn Foster
- Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal and Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
| | - Christopher Boothman
- Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal and Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
| | - Sharon Ruiz-Lopez
- Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal and Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
| | - Genevieve Boshoff
- National Nuclear Laboratory, Chadwick House, Birchwood, Warrington WA3 6AE, UK.
| | | | - David Sigee
- Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal and Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
| | - Jon K Pittman
- Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal and Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
| | - Katherine Morris
- Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal and Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
| | - Jonathan R Lloyd
- Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal and Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
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18
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Foster L, Muhamadali H, Boothman C, Sigee D, Pittman JK, Goodacre R, Morris K, Lloyd JR. Radiation Tolerance of Pseudanabaena catenata, a Cyanobacterium Relevant to the First Generation Magnox Storage Pond. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:515. [PMID: 32318035 PMCID: PMC7154117 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2019] [Accepted: 03/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently a species of Pseudanabaena was identified as the dominant photosynthetic organism during a bloom event in a high pH (pH ∼11.4), radioactive spent nuclear fuel pond (SNFP) at the Sellafield Ltd., United Kingdom facility. The metabolic response of a laboratory culture containing the cyanobacterium Pseudanabaena catenata, a relative of the major photosynthetic microorganism found in the SNFP, to X-ray irradiation was studied to identify potential survival strategies used to support colonization of radioactive environments. Growth was monitored and the metabolic fingerprints of the cultures, during irradiation and throughout the post-irradiation recovery period, were determined using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. A dose of 95 Gy delivered over 5 days did not significantly affect growth of P. catenata, as determined by turbidity measurements and cell counts. Multivariate statistical analysis of the FT-IR spectral data revealed metabolic variation during the post-irradiation recovery period, with increased polysaccharide and decreased amide spectral intensities. Increases in polysaccharides were confirmed by complementary analytical methods including total carbohydrate assays and calcofluor white staining. This observed increased production of polysaccharides is of significance, since this could have an impact on the fate of the radionuclide inventory in the pond via biosorption of cationic radionuclides, and may also impact on downstream processes through biofilm formation and biofouling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lynn Foster
- Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal and Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Howbeer Muhamadali
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Biosciences Building, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Christopher Boothman
- Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal and Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - David Sigee
- Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal and Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Jon K. Pittman
- Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal and Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Royston Goodacre
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Biosciences Building, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Katherine Morris
- Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal and Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan R. Lloyd
- Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal and Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
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19
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Shuryak I. Review of microbial resistance to chronic ionizing radiation exposure under environmental conditions. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY 2019; 196:50-63. [PMID: 30388428 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2018.10.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2018] [Accepted: 10/21/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Ionizing radiation (IR) produces multiple types of damage to nucleic acids, proteins and other crucial cellular components. Nevertheless, various microorganisms from phylogenetically distant taxa (bacteria, archaea, fungi) can resist IR levels many orders of magnitude above natural background. This intriguing phenomenon of radioresistance probably arose independently many times throughout evolution as a byproduct of selective pressures from other stresses (e.g. desiccation, UV radiation, chemical oxidants). Most of the literature on microbial radioresistance is based on acute γ-irradiation experiments performed in the laboratory, typically involving pure cultures grown under near-optimal conditions. There is much less information about the upper limits of radioresistance in the field, such as in radioactively-contaminated areas, where several radiation types (e.g. α and β, as well as γ) and other stressors (e.g. non-optimal temperature and nutrient levels, toxic chemicals, interspecific competition) act over multiple generations. Here we discuss several examples of radioresistant microbes isolated from extremely radioactive locations (e.g. Chernobyl and Mayak nuclear plant sites) and estimate the radiation dose rates they were able to tolerate. Some of these organisms (e.g. the fungus Cladosporium cladosporioides, the cyanobacterium Geitlerinema amphibium) are widely-distributed and colonize a variety of habitats. These examples suggest that resistance to chronic IR and chemical contamination is not limited to rare specialized strains from extreme environments, but can occur among common microbial taxa, perhaps due to overlap between mechanisms of resistance to IR and other stressors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Shuryak
- Center for Radiological Research, Columbia University, 630 West 168(th) street, VC-11-234/5, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
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20
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Shuryak I. Modeling species richness and abundance of phytoplankton and zooplankton in radioactively contaminated water bodies. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY 2018; 192:14-25. [PMID: 29883873 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2018.05.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2017] [Revised: 04/04/2018] [Accepted: 05/22/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Water bodies polluted by the Mayak nuclear plant in Russia provide valuable information on multi-generation effects of radioactive contamination on freshwater organisms. For example, lake Karachay was probably the most radioactive lake in the world: its water contained ∼2 × 107 Bq/L of radionuclides and estimated dose rates to plankton exceeded 5 Gy/h. We performed quantitative modeling of radiation effects on phytoplankton and zooplankton species richness and abundance in Mayak-contaminated water bodies. Due to collinearity between radioactive contamination, water body size and salinity, we combined these variables into one (called HabitatFactors). We employed a customized machine learning approach, where synthetic noise variables acted as benchmarks of predictor performance. HabitatFactors was the only predictor that outperformed noise variables and, therefore, we used it for parametric modeling of plankton responses. Best-fit model predictions suggested 50% species richness reduction at HabitatFactors values corresponding to dose rates of 104-105 μGy/h for phytoplankton, and 103-104 μGy/h for zooplankton. Under conditions similar to those in lake Karachay, best-fit models predicted 81-98% species richness reductions for various taxa (Cyanobacteria, Bacillariophyta, Chlorophyta, Rotifera, Cladocera and Copepoda), ∼20-300-fold abundance reduction for total zooplankton, but no abundance reduction for phytoplankton. Rotifera was the only taxon whose fractional abundance increased with contamination level, reaching 100% in lake Karachay, but Rotifera species richness declined with contamination level, as in other taxa. Under severe radioactive and chemical contamination, one species of Cyanobacteria (Geitlerinema amphibium) dominated phytoplankton, and rotifers from the genus Brachionus dominated zooplankton. The modeling approaches proposed here are applicable to other radioecological data sets. The results provide quantitative information and easily interpretable model parameter estimates for the shapes and magnitudes of freshwater plankton responses to a wide range of radioactive contamination levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Shuryak
- Center for Radiological Research, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States.
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21
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Carbonero F, Mayta A, Bolea M, Yu JZ, Lindeblad M, Lyubimov A, Neri F, Szilagyi E, Smith B, Halliday L, Bartholomew A. Specific Members of the Gut Microbiota are Reliable Biomarkers of Irradiation Intensity and Lethality in Large Animal Models of Human Health. Radiat Res 2018; 191:107-121. [PMID: 30430918 DOI: 10.1667/rr14975.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
The development of effective biomarkers for detecting the magnitude of radiation exposure and resiliency of host response is crucial to identifying appropriate treatment strategies after radiation exposure. We hypothesized that the gastrointestinal resident bacteria would demonstrate predictable, dose-dependent changes after radiation exposure across two large animal models of acute radiation syndrome. Here, Göttingen minipigs (GMP) (n = 50) and rhesus macaques (n = 48) were exposed to five dose levels (resulting in mortality rates of 33-100% and 25-68.7%, respectively). Fecal samples taken prior to and after irradiation (day 0 for GMP; day 0, 3 and 14 for macaques) were used for 16S rRNA gene sequence amplicon high-throughput sequencing. Baseline gut microbiota profiles were dissimilar between GMP and macaques, however, radiation appeared to have similar effect at the phylum level, resulting in Bacteroidetes decrease and Firmicutes increase in both models. The abundance of the main Bacteroidetes genus ( Bacteroides for GMP, Prevotella for macaques) was profoundly decreased by irradiation. Intracellular symbionts [Elusimicrobia in GMP, Treponema (Spirochaetes) in macaques] consistently increased after irradiation, suggesting their use as potential biomarkers of intestinal injury, and potential negative effect on health. Prevotella, Lactobacillus, Clostridium XIVa, Oscillibacter and Elusimicrobium/ Treponema abundances were found to be very significantly correlated with radiation intensity. Furthermore, Prevotella, Enterorhabdus and Ruminococcus and Enterorhabdus maintenance was strongly associated with survival in GMP, while Prevotella, Oscillibacter and Treponema were strongly associated with survival and Streptococcus with death in macaques. Overall, we found that a wide range of gut bacterial genera known to be abundant in the human gut microbiota are excellent biomarkers of radiation intensity and resilience in animal models, and that detrimental effects can be monitored, and potentially prevented, by targeting selected genera.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franck Carbonero
- a Department of Food Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72704
| | - Alba Mayta
- a Department of Food Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72704
| | - Mathilde Bolea
- a Department of Food Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72704
| | - Jiang-Zhou Yu
- b Department of Surgery, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Matt Lindeblad
- c Department of Pharmacology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Alex Lyubimov
- c Department of Pharmacology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Flavia Neri
- b Department of Surgery, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Erzsebet Szilagyi
- b Department of Surgery, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Brett Smith
- d Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Lisa Halliday
- e Department of Primatology, Biologic Resources Laboratory, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Amelia Bartholomew
- b Department of Surgery, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
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22
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Cao S, Zhang F, Zheng H, Peng F, Liu C, Zhou Q. Coccomyxagreatwallensis sp. nov. (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta), a lichen epiphytic alga from Fildes Peninsula, Antarctica. PHYTOKEYS 2018; 110:39-50. [PMID: 30473613 PMCID: PMC6236199 DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.110.26961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2018] [Accepted: 10/15/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
A single-celled green alga Coccomyxagreatwallensis Shunan Cao & Qiming Zhou, sp. nov., isolated from a specimen of Antarctic lichen Psoromahypnorum (Vahl) Gray, is described and illustrated based on a comprehensive investigation of morphology, ultrastructure, ecology and phylogeny. The cells of C.greatwallensis are ovoid to long ellipsoidal and measured 3-5 µm × 6-12 µm. The new species has distinct ITS rDNA and SSU rDNA sequences and differs from the phylogenetic closely related species C.antarctica, C.arvernensis and C.viridis in cell size, distribution and habitat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shunan Cao
- Key Laboratory for Polar Science SOA, Polar Research Institute of China, No.451 Jinqiao Road, Pudong Avenue, Shanghai, 200136, ChinaPolar Research Institute of ChinaShanghaiChina
| | - Fang Zhang
- Key Laboratory for Polar Science SOA, Polar Research Institute of China, No.451 Jinqiao Road, Pudong Avenue, Shanghai, 200136, ChinaPolar Research Institute of ChinaShanghaiChina
| | - Hongyuan Zheng
- Key Laboratory for Polar Science SOA, Polar Research Institute of China, No.451 Jinqiao Road, Pudong Avenue, Shanghai, 200136, ChinaPolar Research Institute of ChinaShanghaiChina
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, ChinaTongji UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Fang Peng
- China Centre for Type Culture Collection (CCTCC), College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, No. 299 Bayi Road, Wuchang District, Wuhan 430072, ChinaWuhan UniversityWuhanChina
| | - Chuanpeng Liu
- School of Life Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, 2 Yikuang Street, Nangang Distinct, Harbin, 150080, ChinaHarbin Institute of TechnologyHarbinChina
| | - Qiming Zhou
- School of Life Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, 2 Yikuang Street, Nangang Distinct, Harbin, 150080, ChinaHarbin Institute of TechnologyHarbinChina
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23
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Silva R, de Almeida DM, Cabral BCA, Dias VHG, Mello ICDTE, Ürményi TP, Woerner AE, Neto RSDM, Budowle B, Nassar CAG. Microbial enrichment and gene functional categories revealed on the walls of a spent fuel pool of a nuclear power plant. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0205228. [PMID: 30286173 PMCID: PMC6171911 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0205228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2017] [Accepted: 09/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Microorganisms developing in the liner of the spent fuel pool (SFP) and the fuel transfer channel (FTC) of a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) can form high radiation resistant biofilms and cause corrosion. Due to difficulties and limitations to obtain large samples from SFP and FTC, cotton swabs were used to collect the biofilm from the wall of these installations. Molecular characterization was performed using massively parallel sequencing to obtain a taxonomic and functional gene classification. Also, samples from the drainage system were evaluated because microorganisms may travel over the 12-meter column of the pool water of the Brazilian Nuclear Power Plant (Angra1), which has been functioning since 1985. Regardless of the treatment of the pool water, our data reveal the unexpected presence of Fungi (Basidiomycota and Ascomycota) as the main contaminators of the SFP and FTC. Ustilaginomycetes (Basidiomycota) was the major class contributor (70%) in the SFP and FTC reflecting the little diversity in these sites; nevertheless, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes (Bacilli) were present in small proportions. Mapping total reads against six fungal reference genomes indicate that there is, in fact, a high abundance of fungal sequences in samples collected from SFP and FTC. Analysis of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) 1 and 2 regions and the protein found in the mitochondria of eukaryotic cells, cytochrome b (cytb) grouped our sample fungi in the clade 7 as Ustilago and Pseudozyma. In contrast, in the drainage system, Alphaproteobacteria were present in high abundances (55%). The presence of Sphingopyxis, Mesorhizobium, Erythrobacter, Sphingomonas, Novosphingobium, Sphingobium, Chelativorans, Oceanicaulis, Acidovorax, and Cyanobacteria was observed. Based on genomic annotation data, the assessment of the biological function found a higher proportion of protein-coding sequences related to respiration and protein metabolism in SFP and FTC samples. The knowledge of this biological inventory present in the system may contribute to further studies of potential microorganisms that might be useful for bioremediation of nuclear waste.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosane Silva
- Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- * E-mail:
| | - Darcy Muniz de Almeida
- Escola Politécnica & Escola de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | | | - Victor Hugo Giordano Dias
- Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | | | - Turán Péter Ürményi
- Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - August E. Woerner
- Center for Human Identification, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, United States of America
| | | | - Bruce Budowle
- Center for Human Identification, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, United States of America
- Center of Excellence in Genomic Medicine Research (CEGMR), King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
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24
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MeGraw VE, Brown AR, Boothman C, Goodacre R, Morris K, Sigee D, Anderson L, Lloyd JR. A Novel Adaptation Mechanism Underpinning Algal Colonization of a Nuclear Fuel Storage Pond. mBio 2018; 9:e02395-17. [PMID: 29946053 PMCID: PMC6020298 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.02395-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2017] [Accepted: 05/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Geochemical analyses alongside molecular techniques were used to characterize the microbial ecology and biogeochemistry of an outdoor spent nuclear fuel storage pond at Sellafield, United Kingdom, that is susceptible to seasonal algal blooms that cause plant downtime. 18S rRNA gene profiling of the filtered biomass samples showed the increasing dominance of a species closely related to the alga Haematococcus pluvialis, alongside 16S rRNA genes affiliated with a diversity of freshwater bacteria, including Proteobacteria and Cyanobacteria High retention of 137Cs and 90Sr on pond water filters coincided with high levels of microbial biomass in the pond, suggesting that microbial colonization may have an important control on radionuclide fate in the pond. To interpret the unexpected dominance of Haematococcus species during bloom events in this extreme environment, the physiological response of H. pluvialis to environmentally relevant ionizing radiation doses was assessed. Irradiated laboratory cultures produced significant quantities of the antioxidant astaxanthin, consistent with pigmentation observed in pond samples. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy suggested that radiation did not have a widespread impact on the metabolic fingerprint of H. pluvialis in laboratory experiments, despite the 80-Gy dose. This study suggests that the production of astaxanthin-rich encysted cells may be related to the preservation of the Haematococcus phenotype, potentially allowing it to survive oxidative stress arising from radiation doses associated with the spent nuclear fuel. The oligotrophic and radiologically extreme conditions in this environment do not prevent extensive colonization by microbial communities, which play a defining role in controlling the biogeochemical fate of major radioactive species present.IMPORTANCE Spent nuclear fuel is stored underwater in large ponds prior to processing and disposal. Such environments are intensively radioactive but can be colonized by microorganisms. Colonization of such inhospitable radioactive ponds is surprising, and the survival mechanisms that microbes use is of fundamental interest. It is also important to study these unusual ecosystems, as microbes growing in the pond waters may accumulate radionuclides present in the waters (for bioremediation applications), while high cell loads can hamper management of the ponds due to poor visibility. In this study, an outdoor pond at the U.K. Sellafield facility was colonized by a seasonal bloom of microorganisms, able to accumulate high levels of 137Cs and 90Sr and dominated by the alga Haematococcus This organism is not normally associated with deep water bodies, but it can adapt to radioactive environments via the production of the pigment astaxanthin, which protects the cells from radiation damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria E MeGraw
- Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
- Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Ashley R Brown
- Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
- Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Christopher Boothman
- Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
- Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Royston Goodacre
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Katherine Morris
- Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
- Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - David Sigee
- Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
- Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Lizzie Anderson
- Thorp Management Centre, Sellafield, Seascale, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan R Lloyd
- Research Centre for Radwaste Disposal, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
- Williamson Research Centre for Molecular Environmental Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
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25
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Rippin M, Borchhardt N, Williams L, Colesie C, Jung P, Büdel B, Karsten U, Becker B. Genus richness of microalgae and Cyanobacteria in biological soil crusts from Svalbard and Livingston Island: morphological versus molecular approaches. Polar Biol 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s00300-018-2252-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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26
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Brewer TE, Fierer N. Tales from the tomb: the microbial ecology of exposed rock surfaces. Environ Microbiol 2017; 20:958-970. [PMID: 29235707 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.14024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2017] [Revised: 10/25/2017] [Accepted: 12/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Although a broad diversity of eukaryotic and bacterial taxa reside on rock surfaces where they can influence the weathering of rocks and minerals, these communities and their contributions to mineral weathering remain poorly resolved. To build a more comprehensive understanding of the diversity, ecology and potential functional attributes of microbial communities living on rock, we sampled 149 tombstones across three continents and analysed their bacterial and eukaryotic communities via marker gene and shotgun metagenomic sequencing. We found that geographic location and climate were important factors structuring the composition of these communities. Moreover, the tombstone-associated microbial communities varied as a function of rock type, with granite and limestone tombstones from the same cemeteries harbouring taxonomically distinct microbial communities. The granite and limestone-associated communities also had distinct functional attributes, with granite-associated bacteria having more genes linked to acid tolerance and chemotaxis, while bacteria on limestone were more likely to be lichen associated and have genes involved in photosynthesis and radiation resistance. Together these results indicate that rock-dwelling microbes exhibit adaptations to survive the stresses of the rock surface, differ based on location, climate and rock type, and seem pre-disposed to different ecological strategies (symbiotic versus free-living lifestyles) depending on the rock type.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tess E Brewer
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA.,Departments of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
| | - Noah Fierer
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
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28
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McCourt RM. Life Finds a Way: Novel Algae in Reactor Cooling Ponds. JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY 2016; 52:687-688. [PMID: 27870140 DOI: 10.1111/jpy.12458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Richard M McCourt
- Academy of Natural Sciences of, Drexel University, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia PA 19103
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