The influence of microbes on the mobility and immobilization of radionuclides e.g. U(VI) in surface and subsurface environments: A microscopical and geochemical study

The effect of uranium added in ecologically relevant concentrations (1×10-5 M and 1×10-6 M) to stable multispecies biofilms was studied by electrochemical oxygen microsensors with tip diameters of 10 µm and by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The results show the different influences of microorganisms on the migration of uranium due to redox processes taking place within biofilm. For the first time the reduction of the U(VI) to metastable U(V) by a one-electron transfer was proved by using a combination of confocal laser microscopy (CLSM) and fluorescence spectroscopy. The microsensor profile measurements in the stable multispecies biofilms exposed to uranium indicated that the bacteria in the top region of the biofilms, i.e. the metabolically most active biofilms zone, battle the toxic effects of aqueous uranium with an increased respiratory activity and high consumption rates. As analysis of the amplified 16S rRNA gene fragments showed, the addition of uranium in ecologically relevant concentrations did not change the bacterial diversity in the stable multispecies biofilms. Adaptation and detoxification mechanisms allow them to resist concentrations of toxic elements. The increased respiratory activity and high consumption rates of the microbes results in larger zones of O2 depletion in the biofilms. These zones may trigger redox processes leading to precipitation of U(IV) solids and consequently to an increased removal and immobilization of uranium from the surrounding bulk solution.