TY - JOUR
T1 - Cyclical patterns affect microbial dynamics in the water basin of a nuclear research reactor
AU - Van Eesbeeck, Valérie
AU - Props, Ruben
AU - Ahmed, Mohamed Mysara
AU - Petit, Pauline
AU - Rivasseau, Corinne
AU - Armengaud, Jean
AU - Monsieur, Pieter
AU - Mahillon, Jacques
AU - Leys, Natalie
N1 - Score=10
PY - 2021/10/15
Y1 - 2021/10/15
N2 - 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 Nonmetric 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 H2 and dead cell recycling are proposed to be used as a strategies for nutrient retrieval in this extremely oligotrophic environment.
AB - 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 Nonmetric 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 H2 and dead cell recycling are proposed to be used as a strategies for nutrient retrieval in this extremely oligotrophic environment.
KW - Nuclear reactor
KW - Ultrapure water
KW - Ionizing radiation
KW - 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing
KW - Aquatic microbiome
KW - Extreme environment
UR - https://ecm.sckcen.be/OTCS/llisapi.dll?func=ll&objAction=download&objId=46896431
U2 - 10.3389/fmicb.2021.744115
DO - 10.3389/fmicb.2021.744115
M3 - Article
SN - 1664-302X
SP - 1
EP - 11
JO - Frontiers in Microbiology
JF - Frontiers in Microbiology
M1 - 744115
ER -