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The enhancement of mtrABDEF gene expressions in Shewanella azerbaijanica, through acclimation in high uranium concentrations

  • Mahsa Zarei EMAIL logo , Razieh Ghasemi , Mohammad Mir-Derikvand , Hamzeh Hosseinpour , Touran Rabiee Samani and Faezeh Fatemi ORCID logo EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: April 22, 2025
Radiochimica Acta
From the journal Radiochimica Acta Volume 113 Issue 6

Abstract

Shewanella azerbaijanica can transfer electrons to uranium in its respiratory system and maintain the efficient growth through bioreduction process. MtrABDEF are some of the main cytochromes involving in Extracellular Electron Transfer of Shewanella. This work attempts to investigate how these genes are affected by various respiratory conditions, and make an effort to enhance their expression through a series of incubations at increasing uranium concentrations. Mtr gene expressions and the uranium removal were analyzed by Real Time RT-PCR and ICP-AES respectively. Uranium threshold concentration, (1 mM uranium for anaerobic electron donor free samples, and 2 mM uranium for electron donor containing samples), the ratio of electron donor to electron acceptor, and the presence of Oxygen, were found to be some of the most important factors affecting the mtr gene expressions during bioreduction. During the acclimation procedure mtr gene expressions were well enhanced, demonstrating that acclimation is a suitable strategy to improve Mtr pathway. Less uranium removal percentage by acclimated bacteria, however, indicates that mtrABDEF are not the most significant agents in bacterial uranium respiration. This work can serve as a model for more advanced research in uranium bioreduction and acclimation-based reduction improvement.

Keywords: compatibility; bioreduction; mtr cluster; gene expression; Shewanella azerbaijanica ; adaptation
Corresponding authors: Mahsa Zarei, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Tehran, Iran; and Department of Life Science Engineering, Faculty of New Sciences and Technologies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran, E-mail: ; and Faezeh Fatemi, Nuclear Fuel Cycle Research School, Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute, Tehran, Iran, E-mail:
Current affiliation: Faezeh Fatemi, Department of Natural Sciences, Bowie State University, 14000 Jericho Park Rd., Bowie 20715, MD, USA.

Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Vahideh Tarhriz and Prof. Mohammad Saeid Hejazi (Molecular Medicine Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran) for isolation, identification and characterization of Shewanella azerbaijanica.

  1. Research ethics: Not applicable.

  2. Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study or their legal guardians or ward.

  3. Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.

  4. Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: None declared.

  5. Conflict of interest: The authors state no conflict of interest.

  6. Research funding: None declared.

  7. Data availability: The DNA sequence of genes are available in: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/.

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Received: 2024-11-04
Accepted: 2025-04-10
Published Online: 2025-04-22
Published in Print: 2025-06-26

© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Original Papers
  3. Synthesis of amide imidazole-based functionalized ionic liquid for separation of Th/Pu
  4. Measurement of integral cross sections of some neutron induced reactions on rubidium at a TRIGA reactor: comparison with integrated data from evaluated data libraries
  5. Production and purification of research scale 161Tb using cation-exchange semi-preparative HPLC for radiopharmaceutical applications
  6. The enhancement of mtrABDEF gene expressions in Shewanella azerbaijanica, through acclimation in high uranium concentrations
  7. Temporal variation of radon in soil and water in Kosovo
  8. Investigation of some radiation interaction parameters with aluminum–boron alloys
  9. Radiation shielding performance of lead-borate glasses with rare-earth oxides: a comparative analysis
https://doi.org/10.1515/ract-2024-0362
Keywords for this article
compatibility; bioreduction; mtr cluster; gene expression; Shewanella azerbaijanica; adaptation

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Original Papers
  3. Synthesis of amide imidazole-based functionalized ionic liquid for separation of Th/Pu
  4. Measurement of integral cross sections of some neutron induced reactions on rubidium at a TRIGA reactor: comparison with integrated data from evaluated data libraries
  5. Production and purification of research scale 161Tb using cation-exchange semi-preparative HPLC for radiopharmaceutical applications
  6. The enhancement of mtrABDEF gene expressions in Shewanella azerbaijanica, through acclimation in high uranium concentrations
  7. Temporal variation of radon in soil and water in Kosovo
  8. Investigation of some radiation interaction parameters with aluminum–boron alloys
  9. Radiation shielding performance of lead-borate glasses with rare-earth oxides: a comparative analysis
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