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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2009, p. 5773-5778, Vol. 75, No. 18
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00628-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

U(VI) Sequestration in Hydroxyapatite Produced by Microbial Glycerol 3-Phosphate Metabolism{triangledown} ,{dagger}

Evgenya S. Shelobolina, Hiromi Konishi, Huifang Xu, and Eric E. Roden*

Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wisconsin, 1215 W. Dayton St., Madison, Wisconsin 53706

Received 17 March 2009/ Accepted 15 July 2009

Previous studies have demonstrated the potential for removal of U(VI) from solution via precipitation of U(VI)-bearing calcium-phosphate (Ca-P) minerals coupled to microbial hydrolysis of glycerol phosphate compounds. We evaluated this process in circumneutral-pH groundwater from Area 2 of the U.S. Department of Energy Field Research Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Area 2 groundwater contains high concentrations of dissolved calcium (ca. 4 mM), and thus, release of phosphate during glycerol phosphate metabolism has the potential to create conditions favorable for U(VI) sequestration in Ca-P minerals. Microbial enumeration and isolation studies verified the presence of aerobic and nitrate-reducing glycerol 3-phosphate (G3P)-metabolizing microorganisms in Area 2 sediments. Coprecipitation of U(VI) with Ca-P minerals coupled to microbial G3P hydrolysis was demonstrated in artificial groundwater under aerobic and nitrate-reducing conditions. Transmission electron microscopy analysis and mineral-washing experiments demonstrated that U(VI) was incorporated into the structure of the insoluble Ca-P mineral hydroxyapatite [Ca5(PO4)3OH]. Our results support the idea that U(VI) can be effectively removed from solution in contaminated aquifers through stimulation of microbial organophosphate metabolism.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Geology and Geophysics, 1215 W. Dayton St., University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706. Phone: (608) 890-0724. Fax: (608) 262-0693. E-mail: eroden{at}geology.wisc.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 24 July 2009.

{dagger} Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://aem.asm.org/.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2009, p. 5773-5778, Vol. 75, No. 18
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00628-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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