For a broader understanding of uranium migration affected by microorganisms in natural anaerobic environment, the bioreduction of uranium(Ⅵ) (U(Ⅵ)) was revealed in Bacillus thuringiensis, a dominant bacterium strain with potential of uranium-tolerant isolated from uranium contaminated soil. The reduction behavior was systematically investigated by the quantitative analysis of U(Ⅳ) in bacteria, and mechanism was inferred from the pathway of electron transmission. Under anaerobic conditions, appropriate biomass and sodium lactate as electron donor, reduction behavior of U(Ⅵ) induced by B. thuringiensis was restricted by the activity of lactate dehydrogenase, which was directly affected by the initial pH, temperature and initial U(Ⅵ) concentration of bioreduction system. Bioreduction of U(Ⅵ) was driven by the generation of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) from enzymatic reaction of sodium lactate with various dehydrogenase. The transmission of the electrons from bacteria to U(Ⅵ) was mainly supported by the intracellular NADH dehydrogenase-ubiquinone system, this process could maintain the biological activity of cells.
Keywords: Bacillus thuringiensis; Bioreduction; Electron transmission; Uranium.
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