Biosorption and Biomineralization of U(VI) by the Marine Bacterium Idiomarina loihiensis MAH1: Effect of Background Electrolyte and pH Morcillo de Amuedo, Fernando González Muñoz, María Teresa Reitz, Thomas Romero González, María Esther Arias Peñalver, José María Merroun, Mohamed Larbi Absorption spectroscopy Bacteria Luminescence Marine bacteria Phosphates Sea water Speciation Uranium The main goal of this study is to compare the effects of pH, uranium concentration, and background electrolyte (seawater and NaClO4 solution) on the speciation of uranium(VI) associated with the marine bacterium Idiomarina loihiensis MAH1. This was done at the molecular level using a multidisciplinary approach combining X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS), Time-Resolved Laser-Induced Fluorescence Spectroscopy (TRLFS), and High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM). We showed that the U(VI)/bacterium interaction mechanism is highly dependent upon pH but also the nature of the used background electrolyte played a role. At neutral conditions and a U concentration ranging from 5·10−4 to 10−5 M (environmentally relevant concentrations), XAS analysis revealed that uranyl phosphate mineral phases, structurally resembling meta-autunite [Ca(UO2)2(PO4)2 2–6H2O] are precipitated at the cell surfaces of the strain MAH1. The formation of this mineral phase is independent of the background solution but U(VI) luminescence lifetime analyses demonstrated that the U(VI) speciation in seawater samples is more intricate, i.e., different complexes were formed under natural conditions. At acidic conditions, pH 2, 3 and 4.3 ([U] = 5·10−4 M, background electrolyte = 0.1 M NaClO4), the removal of U from solution was due to biosorption to Extracellular Polysaccharides (EPS) and cell wall components as evident from TEM analysis. The LIII-edge XAS and TRLFS studies showed that the biosorption process observed is dependent of pH. The bacterial cell forms a complex with U through organic phosphate groups at pH 2 and via phosphate and carboxyl groups at pH 3 and 4.3, respectively. The differences in the complexes formed between uranium and bacteria on seawater compared to NaClO4 solution demonstrates that the actinide/microbe interactions are influenced by the three studied factors, i.e., the pH, the uranium concentration and the chemical composition of the solution. 2014-03-26T10:49:16Z 2014-03-26T10:49:16Z 2014 info:eu-repo/semantics/article Morcillo, F.; et al. Biosorption and Biomineralization of U(VI) by the Marine Bacterium Idiomarina loihiensis MAH1: Effect of Background Electrolyte and pH. Plos One, 9(3): e91305 (2012). [http://hdl.handle.net/10481/31122] 1932-6203 doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0091305 http://hdl.handle.net/10481/31122 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License Public Library of Science (PLOS)