Biostimulation of indigenous microbes for uranium bioremediation in former U mine water: multidisciplinary approach assessment Newman Portela, Antonio Martín Krawczyk Bärsch, Evelyn López Fernández, Margarita Bok, Frank Kassahun, Andrea Drobot, Björn Steudtner, Robin Stumpf, Thorsten Raff, Johannes Merroun, Mohamed Larbi Mine water Uranium Bacterial communities Characterizing uranium (U) mine water is necessary to understand and design an effective bioremediation strategy. In this study, water samples from two former U-mines in East Germany were analysed. The U and sulphate (SO42−) concentrations of Schlema-Alberoda mine water (U: 1 mg/L; SO42−: 335 mg/L) were 2 and 3 order of magnitude higher than those of the Pöhla sample (U: 0.01 mg/L; SO42−: 0.5 mg/L). U and SO42− seemed to influence the microbial diversity of the two water samples. Microbial diversity analysis identified U(VI)-reducing bacteria (e.g. Desulfurivibrio) and wood-degrading fungi (e.g. Cadophora) providing as electron donors for the growth of U-reducers. U-bioreduction experiments were performed to screen electron donors (glycerol, vanillic acid, and gluconic acid) for Schlema-Alberoda U-mine water bioremediation purpose. Thermodynamic speciation calculations show that under experimental conditions, U(VI) is not coordinated to the amended electron donors. Glycerol was the best-studied electron donor as it effectively removed 99% of soluble U, 95% of Fe, and 58% of SO4 2− from the mine water, probably by biostimulation of indigenous microbes. Vanillic acid removed 90% of U, and no U removal occurred using gluconic acid. 2024-05-24T06:56:37Z 2024-05-24T06:56:37Z 2023-12-29 journal article Newman-Portela, A.M., Krawczyk-Bärsch, E., Lopez-Fernandez, M. et al. Biostimulation of indigenous microbes for uranium bioremediation in former U mine water: multidisciplinary approach assessment. Environ Sci Pollut Res 31, 7227–7245 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-31530-4 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/92025 10.1007/s11356-023-31530-4 eng info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/Euratom 900009 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ open access Atribución 4.0 Internacional Springer Nature