Isolation and analysis of UV and radio-resistant bacteria from Chernobyl

Zavilgelsky, G.B.; Абилев, С. К.; Sukhodolets, V. V.; Ahmad, Shamim

doi:10.1016/s1011-1344(98)00099-2

Cited by 33 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Shewanella alga , as a specific example, is not affected by 2.7 µCi of 60 Co(III), 10 times the concentration detected in any groundwater (Gorby et al ., 1998). In environments containing low‐level α and β activity, such as transuranic or nuclear waste storage sites or areas affected by Chernobyl fallout, radiation‐resistant microbes are constantly enriched (Barnhart et al ., 1980; Zavilgelsky et al ., 1998).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Actinide and metal toxicity to prospective bioremediation bacteria

Ruggiero¹,

Boukhalfa²,

Forsythe

et al. 2004

Environmental Microbiology

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Bacteria may be beneficial for alleviating actinide contaminant migration through processes such as bioaccumulation or metal reduction. However, sites with radioactive contamination often contain multiple additional contaminants, including metals and organic chelators. Bacteria-based bioremediation requires that the microorganism functions in the presence of the target contaminant, as well as other contaminants. Here, we evaluate the toxicity of actinides, metals and chelators to two different bacteria proposed for use in radionuclide bioremediation, Deinococcus radiodurans and Pseudomonas putida, and the toxicity of Pu(VI) to Shewanella putrefaciens. Growth of D. radiodurans was inhibited at metal concentrations ranging from 1.8 microM Cd(II) to 32 mM Fe(III). Growth of P. putida was inhibited at metal concentrations ranging from 50 microM Ni(II) to 240 mM Fe(III). Actinides inhibited growth at mM concentrations: chelated Pu(IV), U(VI) and Np(V) inhibit D. radiodurans growth at 5.2, 2.5 and 2.1 mM respectively. Chelated U(VI) inhibits P. putida growth at 1.7 mM, while 3.6 mM chelated Pu(IV) inhibits growth only slightly. Pu(VI) inhibits S. putrefaciens growth at 6 mM. These results indicate that actinide toxicity is primarily chemical (not radiological), and that radiation resistance does not ensure radionuclide tolerance. This study also shows that Pu is less toxic than U and that actinides are less toxic than other types of metals, which suggests that actinide toxicity will not impede bioremediation using naturally occurring bacteria.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Actinide and metal toxicity to prospective bioremediation bacteria

Ruggiero¹,

Boukhalfa²,

Forsythe

et al. 2004

Environmental Microbiology

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“…Whether this increased radiation level would favor mutations linked to radioprotection rather than the fitness experiment itself needs careful evaluation. One study from the Chernobyl environment showed that background absorbed dose rates of up to 75 μ Gy hr −1 do not seem to encourage the formation of radio-resistant sub-strains [60], however a more recent study showed that resistance to γ -radiation was augmented in bacteria living in bird feathers that grew in radiation environments only a few times above the standard background (450 nGy hr −1 ), compared to bacteria found in feathers at both standard and significantly elevated (2.9 μ Gy hr −1 ) backgrounds [61]. Controlled, long term low-dose evolution experiments could even elucidate whether different radioprotective mechanisms evolve in different radiation environments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulating the Impact of the Natural Radiation Background on Bacterial Systems: Implications for Very Low Radiation Biological Experiments

Lampe¹,

Biron²,

Brown³

et al. 2016

PLoS ONE

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At very low radiation dose rates, the effects of energy depositions in cells by ionizing radiation is best understood stochastically, as ionizing particles deposit energy along tracks separated by distances often much larger than the size of cells. We present a thorough analysis of the stochastic impact of the natural radiative background on cells, focusing our attention on E. coli grown as part of a long term evolution experiment in both underground and surface laboratories. The chance per day that a particle track interacts with a cell in the surface laboratory was found to be 6 × 10−5 day−1, 100 times less than the expected daily mutation rate for E. coli under our experimental conditions. In order for the chance cells are hit to approach the mutation rate, a gamma background dose rate of 20 μGy hr−1 is predicted to be required.

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“…There are relatively few studies, most of them in soils, about the effects of ionizing radiation on free-living bacteria in the Chernobyl area. These report either a decrease of bacterial diversity in highly irradiated soils or the isolation of resistant bacteria, frequently spore-forming bacilli, which are also resistant to ultraviolet (UV) radiation and H 2 O 2 exposure [16], [17], [18], [19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sunlight-Exposed Biofilm Microbial Communities Are Naturally Resistant to Chernobyl Ionizing-Radiation Levels

et al. 2011

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BackgroundThe Chernobyl accident represents a long-term experiment on the effects of exposure to ionizing radiation at the ecosystem level. Though studies of these effects on plants and animals are abundant, the study of how Chernobyl radiation levels affect prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbial communities is practically non-existent, except for a few reports on human pathogens or soil microorganisms. Environments enduring extreme desiccation and UV radiation, such as sunlight exposed biofilms could in principle select for organisms highly resistant to ionizing radiation as well.Methodology/Principal FindingsTo test this hypothesis, we explored the diversity of microorganisms belonging to the three domains of life by cultivation-independent approaches in biofilms developing on concrete walls or pillars in the Chernobyl area exposed to different levels of radiation, and we compared them with a similar biofilm from a non-irradiated site in Northern Ireland. Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Acidobacteria and Deinococcales were the most consistently detected bacterial groups, whereas green algae (Chlorophyta) and ascomycete fungi (Ascomycota) dominated within the eukaryotes. Close relatives to the most radio-resistant organisms known, including Rubrobacter species, Deinococcales and melanized ascomycete fungi were always detected. The diversity of bacteria and eukaryotes found in the most highly irradiated samples was comparable to that of less irradiated Chernobyl sites and Northern Ireland. However, the study of mutation frequencies in non-coding ITS regions versus SSU rRNA genes in members of a same actinobacterial operational taxonomic unit (OTU) present in Chernobyl samples and Northern Ireland showed a positive correlation between increased radiation and mutation rates.Conclusions/SignificanceOur results show that biofilm microbial communities in the most irradiated samples are comparable to non-irradiated samples in terms of general diversity patterns, despite increased mutation levels at the single-OTU level. Therefore, biofilm communities growing in sunlight exposed substrates are capable of coping with increased mutation rates and appear pre-adapted to levels of ionizing radiation in Chernobyl due to their natural adaptation to periodical desiccation and ambient UV radiation.

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Isolation and analysis of UV and radio-resistant bacteria from Chernobyl

Cited by 33 publications

References 28 publications

Actinide and metal toxicity to prospective bioremediation bacteria

Actinide and metal toxicity to prospective bioremediation bacteria

Simulating the Impact of the Natural Radiation Background on Bacterial Systems: Implications for Very Low Radiation Biological Experiments

Sunlight-Exposed Biofilm Microbial Communities Are Naturally Resistant to Chernobyl Ionizing-Radiation Levels

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