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Uranium reduction and microbial community development in response to stimulation with different electron donors

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Abstract

Stimulating microbial reduction of soluble U(VI) to less soluble U(IV) shows promise as an in situ bioremediation strategy for uranium contaminated groundwater, but the optimal electron donors for promoting this process have yet to be identified. The purpose of this study was to better understand how the addition of various electron donors to uranium-contaminated subsurface sediments affected U(VI) reduction and the composition of the microbial community. The simple electron donors, acetate or lactate, or the more complex donors, hydrogen-release compound (HRC) or vegetable oil, were added to the sediments incubated in flow-through columns. The composition of the microbial communities was evaluated with quantitative PCR probing specific 16S rRNA genes and functional genes, phospholipid fatty acid analysis, and clone libraries. All the electron donors promoted U(VI) removal, even though the composition of the microbial communities was different with each donor. In general, the overall biomass, rather than the specific bacterial species, was the factor most related to U(VI) removal. Vegetable oil and HRC were more effective in stimulating U(VI) removal than acetate. These results suggest that the addition of more complex organic electron donors could be an excellent option for in situ bioremediation of uranium-contaminated groundwater.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the Environmental Remediation Sciences Program (ERSP), Office of Biological and Environmental Research (OBER), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Project 51882 “The Rifle, Colorado Integrated Field Research Challenge Site (IFRC)”. Additional financial support for Dr. Moon was provided by Brain Korea 21 Project through the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Seoul National University in 2011.

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Author notes

  1. Melissa Barlett

    Present address: Mohawk Valley Community College, Center for Life and Health Sciences, Utica, NY, 13501, USA

  2. Hee Sun Moon

    Present address: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-742, Korea

  3. Philip E. Long

    Present address: Earth Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA

    Melissa Barlett & Derek Lovley

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA

    Hee Sun Moon & Peter R. Jaffe

  3. Haley & Aldrich Inc, Oak Ridge, TN, 37830, USA

    Aaron A. Peacock & David B. Hedrick

  4. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94701, USA

    Kenneth H. Williams

  5. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, 99352, USA

    Philip E. Long

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  1. Melissa Barlett
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Correspondence to Peter R. Jaffe.

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Melissa Barlett and Hee Sun Moon have contributed equally to the study.

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Barlett, M., Moon, H.S., Peacock, A.A. et al. Uranium reduction and microbial community development in response to stimulation with different electron donors. Biodegradation 23, 535–546 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-011-9531-8

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