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

Van Eesbeeck, Valérie;Props, Ruben;Mysara, Mohamed;Petit, Pauline C. M.;Leys, Natalie;et.al.
(2021) Frontiers in Microbiology — Vol. 12, p. 744115 (2021)

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Authors
  • Van Eesbeeck, ValérieMicrobiology Unit, Environment, Health and Safety Department, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK CEN), Mol, Belgium
    Author
  • Props, RubenMicrobiology Unit, Environment, Health and Safety Department, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK CEN), Mol, Belgium
    Author
  • Mysara, MohamedMicrobiology Unit, Environment, Health and Safety Department, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK CEN), Mol, Belgium
    Author
  • Petit, Pauline C. M.Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, Paris, France
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  • Mahillon, JacquesUCLouvain
    Author
  • Leys, NatalieMicrobiology Unit, Environment, Health and Safety Department, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK CEN), Mol, Belgium
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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 H2 and dead cell recycling are proposed to be used as a strategies for nutrient retrieval in this extremely oligotrophic environment.
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Van Eesbeeck, V., Props, R., Mysara, M., Petit, P. C. M., Rivasseau, C., Armengaud, J., Monsieurs, P., Mahillon, J., & Leys, N. (2021). Cyclical Patterns Affect Microbial Dynamics in the Water Basin of a Nuclear Research Reactor. Frontiers in Microbiology, 12, 744115. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.744115 (Original work published 2021)