Environmental and Taxonomic Bacterial Diversity of Anaerobic Uranium(IV) Bio-Oxidation

Microorganisms in diverse terrestrial surface and subsurface environments can anaerobically catalyze the oxidative dissolution of uraninite. While a limited quantity (similar to 5 to 12 mu mol liter(-1)) of uranium is oxidatively dissolved in pure culture studies, the metabolism is coupled to electron transport, providing the potential of uraninite to support indigenous microbial populations and to solubilize uranium.