Characterization of the microbial diversity in the abandoned uranium mine Königstein

Seifert, Jana; Erler, Beate; Seibt, Kathrin; Rohrbach, Nina; Arnold, Janine; Schlömann, Michael; Kassahun, Andrea; Jenk, Ulf

doi:10.1007/978-3-540-87746-2_95

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…metal mines in China (e.g. Hao et al, 2010;He et al, 2007), the Königsstein uranium mine in Germany (Seifert et al, 2008) and the Los Rueldos mercury mine in Spain (Mendez-Garcia et al, 2014).…”

Section: )mentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution of Acidophilic Microorganisms in Natural and Man-made Acidic Environments

Hedrich¹,

Schippers²

2021

Current Issues in Molecular Biology

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Acidophilic microorganisms can thrive in both natural and man-made environments. Natural acidic environments comprise hydrothermal sites on land or in the deep sea, cave systems, acid sulfate soils and acidic fens, as well as naturally exposed ore deposits (gossans). Man-made acidic environments are mostly mine sites including mine waste dumps and tailings, acid mine drainage and biomining operations. The biogeochemical cycles of sulfur and iron, rather than those of carbon and nitrogen, assume centre stage in these environments. Ferrous iron and reduced sulfur compounds originating from geothermal activity or mineral weathering provide energy sources for acidophilic, chemolithotrophic iron-and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria and archaea (including species that are autotrophic, heterotrophic or mixotrophic) and, in contrast to most other types of environments, these are often numerically dominant in acidic sites. Anaerobic growth of acidophiles can occur via the reduction of ferric iron, elemental sulfur or sulfate. While the activities of acidophiles can be harmful to the environment, as in the case of acid mine drainage, they can also be used for the extraction and recovery of metals, as in the case of biomining. Considering the important roles of acidophiles in biogeochemical cycles, pollution and biotechnology, there is a strong need to understanding of their physiology, biochemistry and ecology. Populations in natural acidic environmentsEnvironments where acid is formed naturally without the influence of mining include geothermal terrestrial sites (solfatara) that occur at active volcanoes, deep-sea hydrothermal systems, and naturally exposed sulfide ore deposits. These sites are of great interest when searching for organisms to be used, for example in biomining operations, as it is often the case that these environments have existed for many years and therefore indigenous microorganisms are potentially adapted to high metal and salt concentrations, extreme temperature and low pH (Table 10.1).

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Section: )mentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution of Acidophilic Microorganisms in Natural and Man-made Acidic Environments

Hedrich¹,

Schippers²

2021

Current Issues in Molecular Biology

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“…In light of high tolerances of some organisms for very acidic conditions and high radionuclide concentrations as in flooded uranium mines or nuclear waste tanks, − it would be very interesting to check whether the results obtained for GSH/GSSG (or related compounds) may provide a clue on the operating detoxification mechanisms in such extremophiles.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Uranium(VI) Complexes of Glutathione Disulfide Forming in Aqueous Solution

et al. 2020

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The interactions between glutathione disulfide, GSSG, the redox partner and dimer of the intracellular detoxification agent glutathione, GSH, and hexavalent uranium, U(VI), were extensively studied by solution NMR (in D2O), complemented by time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence and IR spectroscopies. As expected for the hard Lewis acid U(VI), coordination facilitates by the ligands’ O-donor carboxyl groups. However, owing to the adjacent cationic α-amino group, the glutamyl-COO reveal monodentate binding, while the COO of the glycyl residues show bidentate coordination. The log K value for the reaction UO2 2+ + H3GSSG– → UO2(H3GSSG)+ (pH 3, 0.1 M NaClO4) was determined for the first time, being 4.81 ± 0.08; extrapolation to infinite dilution gave log K ⊖ = 5.24 ± 0.08. U(VI) and GSSG form precipitates in the whole pD range studied (2–8), showing least solubility for 4 < pD < 6.5. Thus, particularly GSSG, hereby representing also other peptides and small proteins, affects the mobility of U(VI), strongly depending on the speciation of either component.

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“…Bioremediation is a potentially effective and inexpensive way to restore contaminated environments; however, its implementation is often limited by a lack of information on the microbial communities present and the factors influencing their growth and metabolism (Lovley 2003). Several studies have used cloning-based sequencing methods looking at genes, functions, and pathways to look at bioremediation of environments affected by different contaminants such as jet fuel (Brennerova et al 2009), hydrocarbons and chlorinated solvents (Dojka et al 1998), oil (Röling et al 2002), acid mine drainage (Martins et al 2009), or uranium (Seifert et al 2008). Generally those studies have used sequencing in combination with other molecular techniques such as fingerprinting.…”

Section: Microbial Diversity Investigations Via Sequencingmentioning

confidence: 98%