Bacteria convert uranium to stable compound

Researchers at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), in collaboration with Wismut GmbH and the India — University Grants Commission (India), have demonstrated for the first time that bacteria can convert uranium dissolved in water into a stable chemical compound when supplied with glycerol as a food source. The study, published in Nature Communications, used mine water from a flooded uranium mine in the Ore Mountains. After 130 days, only about 5% of dissolved uranium remained, with bacteria incorporating uranium into their cell walls. The uranium was converted into pentavalent uranium (U(V)), forming the compound FeU(V)O4, which remained stable even when exposed to oxygen. This discovery provides new insight into microbial processes for potential environmental remediation of uranium contamination.