Microbial enrichment and gene functional categories revealed on the walls of a spent fuel pool of a nuclear power plant

PLoS One. 2018 Oct 4;13(10):e0205228. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0205228. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Microorganisms developing in the liner of the spent fuel pool (SFP) and the fuel transfer channel (FTC) of a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) can form high radiation resistant biofilms and cause corrosion. Due to difficulties and limitations to obtain large samples from SFP and FTC, cotton swabs were used to collect the biofilm from the wall of these installations. Molecular characterization was performed using massively parallel sequencing to obtain a taxonomic and functional gene classification. Also, samples from the drainage system were evaluated because microorganisms may travel over the 12-meter column of the pool water of the Brazilian Nuclear Power Plant (Angra1), which has been functioning since 1985. Regardless of the treatment of the pool water, our data reveal the unexpected presence of Fungi (Basidiomycota and Ascomycota) as the main contaminators of the SFP and FTC. Ustilaginomycetes (Basidiomycota) was the major class contributor (70%) in the SFP and FTC reflecting the little diversity in these sites; nevertheless, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes (Bacilli) were present in small proportions. Mapping total reads against six fungal reference genomes indicate that there is, in fact, a high abundance of fungal sequences in samples collected from SFP and FTC. Analysis of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) 1 and 2 regions and the protein found in the mitochondria of eukaryotic cells, cytochrome b (cytb) grouped our sample fungi in the clade 7 as Ustilago and Pseudozyma. In contrast, in the drainage system, Alphaproteobacteria were present in high abundances (55%). The presence of Sphingopyxis, Mesorhizobium, Erythrobacter, Sphingomonas, Novosphingobium, Sphingobium, Chelativorans, Oceanicaulis, Acidovorax, and Cyanobacteria was observed. Based on genomic annotation data, the assessment of the biological function found a higher proportion of protein-coding sequences related to respiration and protein metabolism in SFP and FTC samples. The knowledge of this biological inventory present in the system may contribute to further studies of potential microorganisms that might be useful for bioremediation of nuclear waste.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Biofilms
  • Brazil
  • Corrosion
  • Cyanobacteria / genetics*
  • Cyanobacteria / radiation effects
  • Fungi / genetics
  • Fungi / radiation effects*
  • Nuclear Power Plants
  • Proteobacteria / genetics*
  • Proteobacteria / radiation effects
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / radiation effects
  • Radiation Tolerance / radiation effects*
  • Radioactive Waste / adverse effects
  • Water Microbiology

Substances

  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
  • Radioactive Waste

Grants and funding

This work was funded by research grants of the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq 305833/2013-8 (RS - USD 12,375) and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – CAPES PE 99999.000335/2016-09 (RS - USD 27,000).