Response of microbial community function to fluctuating geochemical conditions within a legacy radioactive waste trench environment

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorVázquez-Campos, Xen_AU
dc.contributor.authorKinsela, ASen_AU
dc.contributor.authorBligh, MWen_AU
dc.contributor.authorHarrison, JJen_AU
dc.contributor.authorPayne, TEen_AU
dc.contributor.authorWaite, TDen_AU
dc.date.accessioned2023-01-12T00:09:12Zen_AU
dc.date.available2023-01-12T00:09:12Zen_AU
dc.date.issued2017-08-17en_AU
dc.date.statistics2022-11-03en_AU
dc.descriptionThis is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.en_AU
dc.description.abstractDuring the 1960s, small quantities of radioactive materials were codisposed with chemical waste at the Little Forest Legacy Site (Sydney, Australia) in 3-meter-deep, unlined trenches. Chemical and microbial analyses, including functional and taxonomic information derived from shotgun metagenomics, were collected across a 6-week period immediately after a prolonged rainfall event to assess the impact of changing water levels upon the microbial ecology and contaminant mobility. Collectively, results demonstrated that oxygen-laden rainwater rapidly altered the redox balance in the trench water, strongly impacting microbial functioning as well as the radiochemistry. Two contaminants of concern, plutonium and americium, were shown to transition from solid-iron-associated species immediately after the initial rainwater pulse to progressively more soluble moieties as reducing conditions were enhanced. Functional metagenomics revealed the potentially important role that the taxonomically diverse microbial community played in this transition. In particular, aerobes dominated in the first day, followed by an increase of facultative anaerobes/denitrifiers at day 4. Toward the mid-end of the sampling period, the functional and taxonomic profiles depicted an anaerobic community distinguished by a higher representation of dissimilatory sulfate reduction and methanogenesis pathways. Our results have important implications to similar near-surface environmental systems in which redox cycling occurs. © 2017 Vázquez-Campos et al.en_AU
dc.identifier.citationVázquez-Campos, X., Kinsela, A. S., Bligh, M. W., Harrison, J. J., Payne, T. E., & Waite, T. D. (2017). Response of microbial community function to fluctuating geochemical conditions within a legacy radioactive waste trench environment. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 83(17), e00729-17. doi:10.1128/AEM.00729-17en_AU
dc.identifier.issn1098-5336en_AU
dc.identifier.issue17en_AU
dc.identifier.journaltitleApplied and Environmental Microbiologyen_AU
dc.identifier.paginatione00729-17en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.00729-17en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://apo.ansto.gov.au/dspace/handle/10238/14313en_AU
dc.identifier.volume83en_AU
dc.language.isoenen_AU
dc.publisherAmerican Society for Microbiologyen_AU
dc.subjectRadioactive wastesen_AU
dc.subjectUnderground disposalen_AU
dc.subjectRadioisotopesen_AU
dc.subjectPlutoniumen_AU
dc.subjectAmericiumen_AU
dc.subjectRain wateren_AU
dc.subjectMicroorganismsen_AU
dc.subjectNew South Walesen_AU
dc.subjectAustraliaen_AU
dc.titleResponse of microbial community function to fluctuating geochemical conditions within a legacy radioactive waste trench environmenten_AU
dc.typeJournal Articleen_AU
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Thumbnail Image
Name:
AEM.00729-17.pdf
Size:
1.14 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
Thumbnail Image
Name:
zam999118017s1.pdf
Size:
1.2 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.63 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download
Collections
Journal Articles