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Cyclical Patterns Affect Microbial Dynamics in the Water Basin of a Nuclear Research Reactor

The BR2 nuclear research reactor in Mol, Belgium, runs in successive phases of operation (cycles) and shutdown, whereby a water basin surrounding the reactor vessel undergoes periodic changes in physico-chemical parameters such as flow rate, temperature, and radiation. The aim of this study was to e...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Van Eesbeeck, Valérie, Props, Ruben, Mysara, Mohamed, Petit, Pauline C. M., Rivasseau, Corinne, Armengaud, Jean, Monsieurs, Pieter, Mahillon, Jacques, Leys, Natalie
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8555696/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34721343
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.744115
Descripción
Sumario:The BR2 nuclear research reactor in Mol, Belgium, runs in successive phases of operation (cycles) and shutdown, whereby a water basin surrounding the reactor vessel undergoes periodic changes in physico-chemical parameters such as flow rate, temperature, and radiation. The aim of this study was to explore the microbial community in this unique environment and to investigate its long-term dynamics using a 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing approach. Results from two sampling campaigns spanning several months showed a clear shift in community profiles: cycles were mostly dominated by two Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) assigned to unclassified Gammaproteobacterium and Pelomonas, whereas shutdowns were dominated by an OTU assigned to Methylobacterium. Although 1 year apart, both campaigns showed similar results, indicating that the system remained stable over this 2-year period. The community shifts were linked with changes in physico-chemical parameters by Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS) and correlation analyses. In addition, radiation was hypothesized to cause a decrease in cell number, whereas temperature had the opposite effect. Chemoautotrophic use of H(2) and dead cell recycling are proposed to be used as a strategies for nutrient retrieval in this extremely oligotrophic environment.