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Journal Articles Frontiers in Microbiology Year : 2021

Cyclical Patterns Affect Microbial Dynamics in the Water Basin of a Nuclear Research Reactor

Abstract

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 Non-metric 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 H 2 and dead cell recycling are proposed to be used as a strategies for nutrient retrieval in this extremely oligotrophic environment.
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Origin : Publication funded by an institution

Dates and versions

hal-04460344 , version 1 (15-02-2024)

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Valérie van Eesbeeck, Ruben Props, Mohamed Mysara, Pauline C M Petit, Corinne Rivasseau, et al.. Cyclical Patterns Affect Microbial Dynamics in the Water Basin of a Nuclear Research Reactor. Frontiers in Microbiology, 2021, 12, pp.744115. ⟨10.3389/fmicb.2021.744115⟩. ⟨hal-04460344⟩
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