Field evidence of selenium bioreduction in a uranium-contaminated aquifer
Corresponding Author
Kenneth H. Williams
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720 USA
For correspondence. E-mail [email protected]; Tel. (+1) 510 701 1089; Fax (+1) 510 486 5686.Search for more papers by this authorMichael J. Wilkins
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorA. Lucie N'Guessan
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorBruce Arey
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorElena Dodova
Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorAlice Dohnalkova
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorDawn Holmes
Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorDerek R. Lovley
Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorPhilip E. Long
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720 USA
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Kenneth H. Williams
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720 USA
For correspondence. E-mail [email protected]; Tel. (+1) 510 701 1089; Fax (+1) 510 486 5686.Search for more papers by this authorMichael J. Wilkins
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorA. Lucie N'Guessan
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorBruce Arey
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorElena Dodova
Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorAlice Dohnalkova
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorDawn Holmes
Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorDerek R. Lovley
Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
Search for more papers by this authorPhilip E. Long
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720 USA
Search for more papers by this authorSummary
Removal of selenium from groundwater was documented during injection of acetate into a uranium-contaminated aquifer near Rifle, Colorado (USA). Bioreduction of aqueous selenium to its elemental form (Se0) concentrated it within mineralized biofilms affixed to tubing used to circulate acetate-amended groundwater. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy revealed close association between Se0 precipitates and cell surfaces, with Se0 aggregates having a diameter of 50–60 nm. Accumulation of Se0 within biofilms occurred over a three-week interval at a rate of c. 9 mg Se0 m−2 tubing day−1. Removal was inferred to result from the activity of a mixed microbial community within the biofilms capable of coupling acetate oxidation to the reduction of oxygen, nitrate and selenate. Phylogenetic analysis of the biofilm revealed a community dominated by strains of Dechloromonas sp. and Thauera sp., with isolates exhibiting genetic similarity to the latter known to reduce selenate to Se0. Enrichment cultures of selenate-respiring microorganisms were readily established using Rifle site groundwater and acetate, with cultures dominated by strains closely related to D. aromatica (96–99% similarity). Predominance of Dechloromonas sp. in recovered biofilms and enrichments suggests this microorganism may play a role in the removal of selenium oxyanions present in Se-impacted groundwaters and sediments.
Supporting Information
| Filename | Description |
|---|---|
| emi412032-sup-0001-FigS1.doc44.6 MB |
Fig. S1. Location of the Integrated Field Research Challenge (IFRC) at Rifle, Colorado (USA) and the well layout used during the 2006 acetate-based biostimulation experiment. Cross-well mixing pumps and tubing were used to circulate acetate-amended groundwaters between the five injection wells indicated, as illustrated schematically in Fig. 4 of the main text. Well installation and well completion details as described by Williams and colleagues (2011). |
| emi412032-sup-0002-FigS2.doc656.5 KB |
Fig. S2. Removal of total aqueous selenium (gray symbols) from groundwater during a 25-day acetate injection experiment at the Rifle IFRC site in August–September 2010 configured in an identical fashion to that reported here. The 2006 experimental location is approximately 100 m to the west of that used in 2010. As with the B04 location in 2006, the background well (top) in 2010 exhibited seasonal fluctuations in total selenium over the monitoring period. As with the 2006 M16 results, pre-injection selenium concentrations (c. 125 μg l−) at the first downgradient well (bottom) fell rapidly as soon as acetate (open symbols) was detected. Of note, selenium concentrations remained well below the US Environmental Protection Agency's maximum contaminant level for selenium in drinking water (50 μg l−) long after acetate was exhausted from the system (data not shown). |
| emi412032-sup-0003-FigS3.doc2.7 MB |
Fig. S3. A and C. Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) images depicting representative locations (white crosses) where energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) data were obtained for elemental analysis. In contrast to the SEM images in Fig. 2, the accelerating voltages were much higher for the EDS analysis (20 versus 5 keV in Fig. 2), which gives rise to the loss in contrast/resolution of fine scale details. B and D. EDS data from the regions depicted in A and C. indicating selenium-rich areas of the tubing biofilm. |
| emi412032-sup-0004-FigS4.doc2.8 MB |
Fig. S4. Photograph of enrichment cultures after c. 3 weeks using two different sources of microbial innocula: tubing biofilms (left) and Rifle site groundwater (middle). A sterile control with identical media composition is shown on the right; media contained acetate (20 mM) and selenate (10 mM) as the sole electron donor and acceptor, respectively, as described in the text. |
| emi412032-sup-0005-FigS5.doc3.7 MB |
Fig. S5. Transmission electron micrographs of the selenium-respiring enrichment cultures. The morphological qualities of the Se0 nanospheres are similar to those produced biologically and extensively characterized by Oremland and colleagues (2004). Rapid volatilization of the electron-dense minerals prevented characterization by selected area electron diffraction. |
| emi412032-sup-0006-AppendixS1.doc46 KB |
Appendix S1. Site description and supplementary experimental procedures describing selenium speciation analytical protocols and 16S-based rRNA analysis of tubing-derived biofilms and groundwater enrichment cultures. |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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