A Novel Adaptation Mechanism Underpinning Algal Colonization of a Nuclear Fuel Storage Pond.

ABSTRACT: Geochemical analyses alongside molecular techniques were used to characterize the microbial ecology and biogeochemistry of an outdoor spent nuclear fuel storage pond at Sellafield, United Kingdom, that is susceptible to seasonal algal blooms that cause plant downtime. 18S rRNA gene profiling of the filtered biomass samples showed the increasing dominance of a species closely related to the alga Haematococcus pluvialis, alongside 16S rRNA genes affiliated with a diversity of freshwater bacteria, including Proteobacteria and Cyanobacteria High retention of ¹³⁷Cs and ⁹⁰Sr on pond water filters coincided with high levels of microbial biomass in the pond, suggesting that microbial colonization may have an important control on radionuclide fate in the p

SUBMITTER: MeGraw VE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6020298 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature