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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2000, p. 3743-3749, Vol. 66, No. 9
0099-2240/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Direct and Fe(II)-Mediated Reduction of Technetium
by Fe(III)-Reducing Bacteria
J. R.
Lloyd,1,*
V. A.
Sole,2
C. V. G.
Van
Praagh,1 and
D. R.
Lovley1
Department of Microbiology, University of
Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003,1
and ESRF EXAFS Group, 38043 Grenoble Cedex,
France2
Received 3 January 2000/Accepted 8 June 2000
The dissimilatory Fe(III)-reducing bacterium Geobacter
sulfurreducens reduced and precipitated Tc(VII) by two
mechanisms. Washed cell suspensions coupled the oxidation of hydrogen
to enzymatic reduction of Tc(VII) to Tc(IV), leading to the
precipitation of TcO2 at the periphery of the cell. An
indirect, Fe(II)-mediated mechanism was also identified. Acetate,
although not utilized efficiently as an electron donor for direct
cell-mediated reduction of technetium, supported the reduction of
Fe(III), and the Fe(II) formed was able to transfer electrons
abiotically to Tc(VII). Tc(VII) reduction was comparatively inefficient
via this indirect mechanism when soluble Fe(III) citrate was supplied
to the cultures but was enhanced in the presence of solid Fe(III)
oxide. The rate of Tc(VII) reduction was optimal, however, when Fe(III)
oxide reduction was stimulated by the addition of the humic analog and electron shuttle anthaquinone-2,6-disulfonate, leading to the rapid
formation of the Fe(II)-bearing mineral magnetite. Under these
conditions, Tc(VII) was reduced and precipitated abiotically on the
nanocrystals of biogenic magnetite as TcO2 and was removed from solution to concentrations below the limit of detection by scintillation counting. Cultures of Fe(III)-reducing bacteria enriched
from radionuclide-contaminated sediment using Fe(III) oxide as an
electron acceptor in the presence of 25 µM Tc(VII) contained a single
Geobacter sp. detected by 16S ribosomal DNA analysis and
were also able to reduce and precipitate the radionuclide via biogenic
magnetite. Fe(III) reduction was stimulated in aquifer material,
resulting in the formation of Fe(II)-containing minerals that were able
to reduce and precipitate Tc(VII). These results suggest that
Fe(III)-reducing bacteria may play an important role in immobilizing
technetium in sediments via direct and indirect mechanisms.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Microbiology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003. Phone: (413) 577-1391. Fax: (413) 545-1578. E-mail:
jrlloyd{at}microbio.umass.edu.
Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2000, p. 3743-3749, Vol. 66, No. 9
0099-2240/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
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