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Title: Potential for Methanosarcina to Contribute to Uranium Reduction during Acetate-Promoted Groundwater Bioremediation

Abstract

Previous studies of acetate-promoted bioremediation of uranium-contaminated aquifers focused on Geobacter because no other microorganisms that can couple the oxidation of acetate with U(VI) reduction had been detected in situ. Monitoring the levels of methyl CoM reductase subunit A (mcrA) transcripts during an acetate-injection field experiment demonstrated that acetoclastic methanogens from the genus Methanosarcina were enriched after 40 days of acetate amendment. The increased abundance of Methanosarcina corresponded with an accumulation of methane in the groundwater. In order to determine whether Methanosarcina species could be participating in U(VI) reduction in the subsurface, cell suspensions of Methanosarcina barkeri were incubated in the presence of U(VI) with acetate provided as the electron donor. U(VI) was reduced by metabolically active M. barkeri cells; however, no U(VI) reduction was observed in inactive controls. These results demonstrate that Methanosarcina species could play an important role in the long-term bioremediation of uranium-contaminated aquifers after depletion of Fe(III) oxides limits the growth of Geobacter species. The results also suggest that Methanosarcina have the potential to influence uranium geochemistry in a diversity of anaerobic sedimentary environments.

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [2];  [4];  [5];  [2];  [6]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Western New Engalnd Univ., Springfield, MA (United States); Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA (United States)
  2. Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA (United States)
  3. Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States)
  4. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
  5. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  6. Univ. of Southern Denmark, Odense (Denmark)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
OSTI Identifier:
1477395
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-05CH11231
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Microbial Ecology
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 76; Journal Issue: 3; Journal ID: ISSN 0095-3628
Publisher:
Springer
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; 59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

Citation Formats

Holmes, Dawn E., Orelana, Roberto, Giloteaux, Ludovic, Wang, Li-Ying, Shrestha, Pravin, Williams, Kenneth, Lovley, Derek R., and Rotaru, Amelia-Elena. Potential for Methanosarcina to Contribute to Uranium Reduction during Acetate-Promoted Groundwater Bioremediation. United States: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.1007/s00248-018-1165-5.
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Holmes, Dawn E., Orelana, Roberto, Giloteaux, Ludovic, Wang, Li-Ying, Shrestha, Pravin, Williams, Kenneth, Lovley, Derek R., & Rotaru, Amelia-Elena. Potential for Methanosarcina to Contribute to Uranium Reduction during Acetate-Promoted Groundwater Bioremediation. United States. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-018-1165-5
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Holmes, Dawn E., Orelana, Roberto, Giloteaux, Ludovic, Wang, Li-Ying, Shrestha, Pravin, Williams, Kenneth, Lovley, Derek R., and Rotaru, Amelia-Elena. Fri . "Potential for Methanosarcina to Contribute to Uranium Reduction during Acetate-Promoted Groundwater Bioremediation". United States. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-018-1165-5. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1477395.
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@article{osti_1477395,
title = {Potential for Methanosarcina to Contribute to Uranium Reduction during Acetate-Promoted Groundwater Bioremediation},
author = {Holmes, Dawn E. and Orelana, Roberto and Giloteaux, Ludovic and Wang, Li-Ying and Shrestha, Pravin and Williams, Kenneth and Lovley, Derek R. and Rotaru, Amelia-Elena},
abstractNote = {Previous studies of acetate-promoted bioremediation of uranium-contaminated aquifers focused on Geobacter because no other microorganisms that can couple the oxidation of acetate with U(VI) reduction had been detected in situ. Monitoring the levels of methyl CoM reductase subunit A (mcrA) transcripts during an acetate-injection field experiment demonstrated that acetoclastic methanogens from the genus Methanosarcina were enriched after 40 days of acetate amendment. The increased abundance of Methanosarcina corresponded with an accumulation of methane in the groundwater. In order to determine whether Methanosarcina species could be participating in U(VI) reduction in the subsurface, cell suspensions of Methanosarcina barkeri were incubated in the presence of U(VI) with acetate provided as the electron donor. U(VI) was reduced by metabolically active M. barkeri cells; however, no U(VI) reduction was observed in inactive controls. These results demonstrate that Methanosarcina species could play an important role in the long-term bioremediation of uranium-contaminated aquifers after depletion of Fe(III) oxides limits the growth of Geobacter species. The results also suggest that Methanosarcina have the potential to influence uranium geochemistry in a diversity of anaerobic sedimentary environments.},
doi = {10.1007/s00248-018-1165-5},
journal = {Microbial Ecology},
number = 3,
volume = 76,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Mar 02 00:00:00 EST 2018},
month = {Fri Mar 02 00:00:00 EST 2018}
}
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https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-018-1165-5
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Reduction of structural Fe(III) in nontronite by methanogen Methanosarcina barkeri
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Persistence of uranium groundwater plumes: Contrasting mechanisms at two DOE sites in the groundwater–river interaction zone
journal, April 2013

Bioremediation of uranium contamination with enzymatic uranium reduction
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  • Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 26, Issue 11
  • DOI: 10.1021/es00035a023

Sustained Removal of Uranium From Contaminated Groundwater Following Stimulation of Dissimilatory Metal Reduction
journal, April 2008

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Genome-scale dynamic modeling of the competition between Rhodoferax and Geobacter in anoxic subsurface environments
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Characterization and transcription of arsenic respiration and resistance genes during in situ uranium bioremediation
journal, October 2012

  • Giloteaux, Ludovic; Holmes, Dawn E.; Williams, Kenneth H.
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Microbiological and Geochemical Heterogeneity in an In Situ Uranium Bioremediation Field Site
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Uranium Reduction
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Confidence Limits on Phylogenies: An Approach Using the Bootstrap
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