First Isolation and Characterization of Bacteria from the Core’s Cooling Pool of an Operating Nuclear Reactor
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 p...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Microorganisms |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/11/8/1871 |
| _version_ | 1797583778552479744 |
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| author | Pauline Petit Karim Hayoun Béatrice Alpha-Bazin Jean Armengaud Corinne Rivasseau |
| author_facet | Pauline Petit Karim Hayoun Béatrice Alpha-Bazin Jean Armengaud Corinne Rivasseau |
| author_sort | Pauline Petit |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:43:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a37768cce626491fb024c14cd78756d4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:43:51Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj.art-a37768cce626491fb024c14cd78756d42023-11-19T02:15:14ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072023-07-01118187110.3390/microorganisms11081871First Isolation and Characterization of Bacteria from the Core’s Cooling Pool of an Operating Nuclear ReactorPauline Petit0Karim Hayoun1Béatrice Alpha-Bazin2Jean Armengaud3Corinne Rivasseau4Université Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, IRIG, F-38000 Grenoble, FranceDépartement Médicaments et Technologies pour la Santé (DMTS), Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, INRAE, SPI, F-30200 Bagnols-sur-Cèze, FranceDépartement Médicaments et Technologies pour la Santé (DMTS), Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, INRAE, SPI, F-30200 Bagnols-sur-Cèze, FranceDépartement Médicaments et Technologies pour la Santé (DMTS), Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, INRAE, SPI, F-30200 Bagnols-sur-Cèze, FranceUniversité Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, IRIG, F-38000 Grenoble, FranceMicrobial 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.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/11/8/1871biodiversitynuclear facilityradiotolerancegamma radiationuraniumbioremediation |
| spellingShingle | Pauline Petit Karim Hayoun Béatrice Alpha-Bazin Jean Armengaud Corinne Rivasseau First Isolation and Characterization of Bacteria from the Core’s Cooling Pool of an Operating Nuclear Reactor Microorganisms biodiversity nuclear facility radiotolerance gamma radiation uranium bioremediation |
| title | First Isolation and Characterization of Bacteria from the Core’s Cooling Pool of an Operating Nuclear Reactor |
| title_full | First Isolation and Characterization of Bacteria from the Core’s Cooling Pool of an Operating Nuclear Reactor |
| title_fullStr | First Isolation and Characterization of Bacteria from the Core’s Cooling Pool of an Operating Nuclear Reactor |
| title_full_unstemmed | First Isolation and Characterization of Bacteria from the Core’s Cooling Pool of an Operating Nuclear Reactor |
| title_short | First Isolation and Characterization of Bacteria from the Core’s Cooling Pool of an Operating Nuclear Reactor |
| title_sort | first isolation and characterization of bacteria from the core s cooling pool of an operating nuclear reactor |
| topic | biodiversity nuclear facility radiotolerance gamma radiation uranium bioremediation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/11/8/1871 |
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