MURMoT. Design and Application of Microbial Uranium Reduction Monitoring Tools

Loeffler, Frank E.

doi:10.2172/1167142

Title: MURMoT. Design and Application of Microbial Uranium Reduction Monitoring Tools

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Abstract

Uranium (U) contamination in the subsurface is a major remediation challenge at many DOE sites. Traditional site remedies present enormous costs to DOE; hence, enhanced bioremediation technologies (i.e., biostimulation and bioaugmentation) combined with monitoring efforts are being considered as cost-effective corrective actions to address subsurface contamination. This research effort improved understanding of the microbial U reduction process and developed new tools for monitoring microbial activities. Application of these tools will promote science-based site management decisions that achieve contaminant detoxification, plume control, and long-term stewardship in the most efficient manner. The overarching hypothesis was that the design, validation and application of a suite of new molecular and biogeochemical tools advance process understanding, and improve environmental monitoring regimes to assess and predict in situ U immobilization. Accomplishments: This project (i) advanced nucleic acid-based approaches to elucidate the presence, abundance, dynamics, spatial distribution, and activity of metal- and radionuclide-detoxifying bacteria; (ii) developed proteomics workflows for detection of metal reduction biomarker proteins in laboratory cultures and contaminated site groundwater; (iii) developed and demonstrated the utility of U isotopic fractionation using high precision mass spectrometry to quantify U(VI) reduction for a range of reduction mechanisms and environmental conditions; and (iv) validated the new tools usingmore »« less

Authors:

Loeffler, Frank E. ^[1]

Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)

Publication Date:: Wed Dec 31 00:00:00 EST 2014

Research Org.:: Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)

OSTI Identifier:: 1167142

Report Number(s):: DOE-UTK-0004796
ER65019

DOE Contract Number:: SC0004796

Resource Type:: Technical Report

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; Uranium; microbial activity; immobilization; monitoring tools

Citation Formats


                    Loeffler, Frank E. MURMoT. Design and Application of Microbial Uranium Reduction Monitoring Tools.  United States: N. p., 2014. 
        Web.  doi:10.2172/1167142.

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                    Loeffler, Frank E. MURMoT. Design and Application of Microbial Uranium Reduction Monitoring Tools.  United States.  https://doi.org/10.2172/1167142

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                    Loeffler, Frank E. 2014.  
        "MURMoT. Design and Application of Microbial Uranium Reduction Monitoring Tools".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.2172/1167142.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1167142.

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@article{osti_1167142,

  title        = {MURMoT. Design and Application of Microbial Uranium Reduction Monitoring Tools},

  author       = {Loeffler, Frank E.},

  abstractNote = {Uranium (U) contamination in the subsurface is a major remediation challenge at many DOE sites. Traditional site remedies present enormous costs to DOE; hence, enhanced bioremediation technologies (i.e., biostimulation and bioaugmentation) combined with monitoring efforts are being considered as cost-effective corrective actions to address subsurface contamination. This research effort improved understanding of the microbial U reduction process and developed new tools for monitoring microbial activities. Application of these tools will promote science-based site management decisions that achieve contaminant detoxification, plume control, and long-term stewardship in the most efficient manner. The overarching hypothesis was that the design, validation and application of a suite of new molecular and biogeochemical tools advance process understanding, and improve environmental monitoring regimes to assess and predict in situ U immobilization. Accomplishments: This project (i) advanced nucleic acid-based approaches to elucidate the presence, abundance, dynamics, spatial distribution, and activity of metal- and radionuclide-detoxifying bacteria; (ii) developed proteomics workflows for detection of metal reduction biomarker proteins in laboratory cultures and contaminated site groundwater; (iii) developed and demonstrated the utility of U isotopic fractionation using high precision mass spectrometry to quantify U(VI) reduction for a range of reduction mechanisms and environmental conditions; and (iv) validated the new tools using field samples from U-contaminated IFRC sites, and demonstrated their prognostic and diagnostic capabilities in guiding decision making for environmental remediation and long-term site stewardship.},

  doi          = {10.2172/1167142},

  url          = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1167142},
  journal      = {},
number       = ,

  volume       = ,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {Wed Dec 31 00:00:00 EST 2014},

  month        = {Wed Dec 31 00:00:00 EST 2014}

}

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