Dissimilatory Metal-reducing Bacterium Shewanella Research Articles

Degradation of 2, 2′, 4, 4′-Tetrabrominated diphenyl ether (BDE-47) via the Fenton reaction driven by the dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1

A microbially facilitated approach was developed to degrade 2, 2′, 4, 4′-tetrabrominated diphenyl ether (BDE-47). This approach consisted of biological production of Fe(II) and H2O2 by the dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 during the repetitive anoxic/oxic cycles and abiotic production of hydroxyl radical (HO●) with the biologically produced Fe(II) and H2O2 via Fenton reaction. Under the condition tested, BDE-47 did not inhibit the growth of S. oneidensis MR-1. Water soluble Fe(III)-citrate and the solid minerals ferrihydrite [Fe(III)2O3•0.5H2O] and goethite [Fe(III)OOH] were tested in this study. Under anoxic condition, the amounts of Fe(II) produced by S. oneidensis MR-1 varied among the Fe(III)s tested, which decreased in the order of Fe(III)-citrate > ferrihydrite > goethite. Under subsequent oxic condition, H2O2 was produced via O2 reduction by S. oneidensis MR-1. The amounts of H2O2 detected also varied, which decreased in the order of the reactions with Fe(III)-citrate > goethite > ferrihydrite. S. oneidensis MR-1 maintained its ability to produce Fe(II) and H2O2 for up to seven anoxic/oxic cycles. At each end of anoxic/oxic cycle, HO● was detected. The amount of HO● produced decreased in the order of the reactions with ferrihydrite > goethite > Fe(III)-citrate, which was opposite to that of H2O2 detected. Compared to the controls without HO●, the amounts of BDE-47 in the reactions with HO● decreased. The more HO● in the reaction, the less amount of BDE-47 detected. Furthermore, no BDE-47 degradation was observed when HO● was scavenged or ferrihydrite was either omitted or replaced by nitrate. Finally, identification of degradation products, such as hydroxylated BDE-47 and trisBDE, dibromophenol and monobromophenol, suggested that OH-addition and Br-substitution by HO● were the main mechanisms for degrading BDE-47. Collectively, all these results demonstrated for the first time that the Fenton reaction driven by S. oneidensis MR-1 degraded BDE-47 effectively.

Regulation of Gene Expression in Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 during Electron Acceptor Limitation and Bacterial Nanowire Formation.

In limiting oxygen as an electron acceptor, the dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 rapidly forms nanowires, extensions of its outer membrane containing the cytochromes MtrC and OmcA needed for extracellular electron transfer. RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) analysis was employed to determine differential gene expression over time from triplicate chemostat cultures that were limited for oxygen. We identified 465 genes with decreased expression and 677 genes with increased expression. The coordinated increased expression of heme biosynthesis, cytochrome maturation, and transport pathways indicates that S. oneidensis MR-1 increases cytochrome production, including the transcription of genes encoding MtrA, MtrC, and OmcA, and transports these decaheme cytochromes across the cytoplasmic membrane during electron acceptor limitation and nanowire formation. In contrast, the expression of the mtrA and mtrC homologs mtrF and mtrD either remains unaffected or decreases under these conditions. The ompW gene, encoding a small outer membrane porin, has 40-fold higher expression during oxygen limitation, and it is proposed that OmpW plays a role in cation transport to maintain electrical neutrality during electron transfer. The genes encoding the anaerobic respiration regulator cyclic AMP receptor protein (CRP) and the extracytoplasmic function sigma factor RpoE are among the transcription factor genes with increased expression. RpoE might function by signaling the initial response to oxygen limitation. Our results show that RpoE activates transcription from promoters upstream of mtrC and omcA The transcriptome and mutant analyses of S. oneidensis MR-1 nanowire production are consistent with independent regulatory mechanisms for extending the outer membrane into tubular structures and for ensuring the electron transfer function of the nanowires. Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 has the capacity to transfer electrons to its external surface using extensions of the outer membrane called bacterial nanowires. These bacterial nanowires link the cell's respiratory chain to external surfaces, including oxidized metals important in bioremediation, and explain why S. oneidensis can be utilized as a component of microbial fuel cells, a form of renewable energy. In this work, we use differential gene expression analysis to focus on which genes function to produce the nanowires and promote extracellular electron transfer during oxygen limitation. Among the genes that are expressed at high levels are those encoding cytochrome proteins necessary for electron transfer. Shewanella coordinates the increased expression of regulators, metabolic pathways, and transport pathways to ensure that cytochromes efficiently transfer electrons along the nanowires.

Extracellular biosynthesis of copper sulfide nanoparticles by Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 as a photothermal agent.

Photothermal therapy (PTT) is a minimally invasive and effective cancer treatment method and has a great potential for innovating the conventional chemotherapy approaches. Copper sulfide (CuS) exhibits photostability, low cost, and high absorption in near infrared region, and is recognized as an ideal candidate for PTT. However, CuS, as a photothermal agent, is usually synthesized with traditional chemical approaches, which require high temperature, additional stabilization and hydrophilic modification. Herein, we report, for the first time, the preparation of CuS nanoparticles as a photothermal agent by a dissimilatory metal reducing bacterium Shewanella. oneidensis MR-1. The prepared nanoparticles are homogenously shaped, hydrophilic, small-sized (∼5nm) and highly stable. Furthermore, the biosynthesized CuS nanoparticles display a high photothermal conversion efficiency of 27.2% because of their strong absorption at 1100nm. The CuS nanoparticles could be effectively used as a PTT agent under the irradiation of 1064nm. This work provides a simple, eco-friendly and cost-effective approach for fabricating PTT agents.

Electron Cryo-Tomography of Nanowires in Shewanella Oneidensis MR-1

The dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 is known to make ‘nanowires,’ conductive cell appendages used in electron transport. Novel live fluorescence imaging techniques recently clarified that the conductive filaments in S. oneidensis are not pili, as previously thought, but rather extensions of the outer membrane. However, their fine structure and mechanism remained unclear. Here, we report the first high-resolution in vivo images of nanowires in frozen-hydrated cells in a near-native state by electron cryo-tomography (ECT). We first developed a method for in vivo production of nanowires in cells grown on EM grids. Using correlative light microscopy and ECT, we then identified and imaged nanowires at high resolution and in three dimensions. Interestingly, we find that nanowires are composed of outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) strung together to form a chain. The size of the vesicles and the length and thickness of the vesicle chain are highly variable. However, even apparently smooth filaments such as those described previously are in fact, at higher resolution, revealed to be chains of OMVs. This work will help us investigate the electron transport mechanism along Shewanella nanowires. Additionally, this work has implications in understanding how OMVs, ubiquitous in Gram-negative bacteria, can assemble into chains.

Metabolite-enabled mutualistic interaction between Shewanella oneidensis and Escherichia coli in a co-culture using an electrode as electron acceptor.

Mutualistic interactions in planktonic microbial communities have been extensively studied. However, our understanding on mutualistic communities consisting of co-existing planktonic cells and biofilms is limited. Here, we report a planktonic cells-biofilm mutualistic system established by the fermentative bacterium Escherichia coli and the dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis in a bioelectrochemical device, where planktonic cells in the anode media interact with the biofilms on the electrode. Our results show that the transfer of formate is the key mechanism in this mutualistic system. More importantly, we demonstrate that the relative distribution of E. coli and S. oneidensis in the liquid media and biofilm is likely driven by their metabolic functions towards an optimum communal metabolism in the bioelectrochemical device. RNA sequencing-based transcriptomic analyses of the interacting organisms in the mutualistic system potentially reveal differential expression of genes involved in extracellular electron transfer pathways in both species in the planktonic cultures and biofilms.

Reduced Heme Levels Underlie the Exponential Growth Defect of the Shewanella oneidensis hfq Mutant

The RNA chaperone Hfq fulfills important roles in small regulatory RNA (sRNA) function in many bacteria. Loss of Hfq in the dissimilatory metal reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis strain MR-1 results in slow exponential phase growth and a reduced terminal cell density at stationary phase. We have found that the exponential phase growth defect of the hfq mutant in LB is the result of reduced heme levels. Both heme levels and exponential phase growth of the hfq mutant can be completely restored by supplementing LB medium with 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA), the first committed intermediate synthesized during heme synthesis. Increasing expression of gtrA, which encodes the enzyme that catalyzes the first step in heme biosynthesis, also restores heme levels and exponential phase growth of the hfq mutant. Taken together, our data indicate that reduced heme levels are responsible for the exponential growth defect of the S. oneidensis hfq mutant in LB medium and suggest that the S. oneidensis hfq mutant is deficient in heme production at the 5-ALA synthesis step.

Promotion of Iron Oxide Reduction and Extracellular Electron Transfer in Shewanella oneidensis by DMSO

The dissimilatory metal reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, known for its capacity of reducing iron and manganese oxides, has great environmental impacts. The iron oxides reducing process is affected by the coexistence of alternative electron acceptors in the environment, while investigation into it is limited so far. In this work, the impact of dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO), a ubiquitous chemical in marine environment, on the reduction of hydrous ferric oxide (HFO) by S. oneidensis MR-1 was investigated. Results show that DMSO promoted HFO reduction by both wild type and ΔdmsE, but had no effect on the HFO reduction by ΔdmsB, indicating that such a promotion was dependent on the DMSO respiration. With the DMSO dosing, the levels of extracellular flavins and omcA expression were significantly increased in WT and further increased in ΔdmsE. Bioelectrochemical analysis show that DMSO also promoted the extracellular electron transfer of WT and ΔdmsE. These results demonstrate that DMSO could stimulate the HFO reduction through metabolic and genetic regulation in S. oneidensis MR-1, rather than compete for electrons with HFO. This may provide a potential respiratory pathway to enhance the microbial electron flows for environmental and engineering applications.

Single-cell imaging and spectroscopic analyses of Cr(VI) reduction on the surface of bacterial cells.

We investigate the single-cell reduction of toxic Cr(VI) by the dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 (MR-1), an important bioremediation process, using Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Our experiments indicate that the toxic, highly soluble Cr(VI) can be efficiently reduced to less toxic, nonsoluble Cr(2)O(3) nanoparticles by MR-1. Cr(2)O(3) is observed to emerge as nanoparticles adsorbed on the cell surface and its chemical nature is identified by EDX imaging and Raman spectroscopy. Co-localization of Cr(2)O(3) and cytochromes by EDX imaging and Raman spectroscopy suggests a terminal reductase role for MR-1 surface-exposed cytochromes MtrC and OmcA. Our experiments revealed that the cooperation of surface proteins OmcA and MtrC makes the reduction reaction most efficient, and the sequence of the reducing reactivity of MR-1 is wild type > single mutant ΔmtrC or mutant ΔomcA > double mutant (ΔomcA-ΔmtrC). Moreover, our results also suggest that direct microbial Cr(VI) reduction and Fe(II) (hematite)-mediated Cr(VI) reduction mechanisms may coexist in the reduction processes.

Mtr extracellular electron-transfer pathways in Fe(III)-reducing or Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria: a genomic perspective

Originally discovered in the dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 (MR-1), key components of the Mtr (i.e. metal-reducing) pathway exist in all strains of metal-reducing Shewanella characterized. The protein components identified to date for the Mtr pathway of MR-1 include four multihaem c-Cyts (c-type cytochromes), CymA, MtrA, MtrC and OmcA, and a porin-like outer membrane protein MtrB. They are strategically positioned along the width of the MR-1 cell envelope to mediate electron transfer from the quinone/quinol pool in the inner membrane to Fe(III)-containing minerals external to the bacterial cells. A survey of microbial genomes has identified homologues of the Mtr pathway in other dissimilatory Fe(III)-reducing bacteria, including Aeromonas hydrophila, Ferrimonas balearica and Rhodoferax ferrireducens, and in the Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria Dechloromonas aromatica RCB, Gallionella capsiferriformans ES-2 and Sideroxydans lithotrophicus ES-1. The apparent widespread distribution of Mtr pathways in both Fe(III)-reducing and Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria suggests a bidirectional electron transfer role, and emphasizes the importance of this type of extracellular electron-transfer pathway in microbial redox transformation of iron. The organizational and electron-transfer characteristics of the Mtr pathways may be shared by other pathways used by micro-organisms for exchanging electrons with their extracellular environments.

Distributed microbially- and chemically-mediated redox processes controlling arsenic dynamics within Mn-/Fe-oxide constructed aggregates

The aggregate-based structure of soils imparts physical heterogeneity that gives rise to variation in microbial and chemical processes which influence the speciation and retention of trace elements such as As. To examine the impact of distributed redox conditions on the fate of As in soils, we imposed various redox treatments upon constructed soil aggregates composed of ferrihydrite- and birnessite-coated sands presorbed with As(V) and inoculation with the dissimilatory metal reducing bacterium Shewanella sp. ANA-3. Aeration of the advecting solution surrounding the aggregates was varied to simulate environmental conditions. We find that diffusion-limited transport within high dissolved organic carbon environments allows reducing conditions to persist in the interior of aggregates despite aerated advecting external solutes, causing As, Mn, and Fe to migrate from the reduced aggregate interiors to the aerated exterior region. Upon transitioning to anoxic conditions in the external solutes, pulses of As, Mn and Fe are released into the advecting solution, while, conversely, a transition to aerated conditions in the exterior resulted in a cessation of As, Mn, and Fe release. Importantly, we find that As(III) oxidation by birnessite is appreciable only in the presence of O2; oxidation of As(III) to As(V) by Mn-oxides ceases under anaerobic conditions apparently as a result of microbially mediated Mn(IV/III) reduction. Our results demonstrate the importance of considering redox conditions and the physical complexity of soils in determining As dynamics, where redox transitions can either enhance or inhibit As release due to speciation shifts in both sorbents (solubilization versus precipitation of Fe and Mn oxides) and sorbates (As).

Physical constraints on charge transport through bacterial nanowires.

Extracellular appendages of the dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 were recently shown to sustain currents of 10(10) electrons per second over distances of 0.5 microns [El-Naggar et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A., 2010, 107, 18127]. However, the identity of the charge localizing sites and their organization along the "nanowire" remain unknown. We use theory to predict redox cofactor separation distances that would permit charge flow at rates of 10(10) electrons per second over 0.5 microns for voltage biases of < or = IV, using a steady-state analysis governed by a non-adiabatic electron transport mechanism. We find the observed currents necessitate a multi-step hopping transport mechanism, with charge localizing sites separated by less than 1 nm and reorganization energies that rival the lowest known in biology.

Bacterial two-hybrid analysis of the Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 multi-component electron transfer pathway

Understanding cellular systems requires profound analysis of the protein interaction networks. Protein interaction mapping is performed mainly by co-purification strategies or two-hybrid systems. Recently, we expanded the tools for analyzing protein-protein interactions in bacteria with a two-hybrid technique based on beta-galactosidase complementation, and demonstrated its potential to explore interactions of membrane systems and to study transient interactions between redox partners (Borloo et al. 2007a). We demonstrate here the functionality of this assay to reveal the interactions within the complex electron transfer chain of the dissimilatory metal reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. Specifically, we identified the cytoplasmic membrane-bound CymA as a key component, after which the electron transport chain is found to bifurcate towards several periplasmic proteins. It again congregates at the crucial MtrA, which in turn forms an electron transfer complex with the outer membrane localized MtrB and the terminal ferric reductases MtrC and OmcA. These data are complemented by mutant screening and confirm previous kinetic analyses (Borloo et al., 2007b).

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic studies of the outer membrane cytochrome OmcA from Shewanella oneidensis MR-1.

The outer membrane cytochrome OmcA functions as a terminal metal reductase in the dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. The ten-heme centers shuttle electrons from the transmembrane donor complex to extracellular electron acceptors. Here, the crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of OmcA are reported. Crystals of OmcA were grown by the sitting-drop vapor-diffusion method using PEG 20,000 as a precipitant. The OmcA crystals belonged to space group P2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 93.0, b = 246.0, c = 136.6 Å, α = 90, β = 97.8, γ = 90°. X-ray diffraction data were collected to a maximum resolution of 3.25 Å.

Draft genome sequence of Shewanella sp. strain HN-41, which produces arsenic-sulfide nanotubes.

The dissimilatory metal reducing bacterium Shewanella sp. strain HN-41 was first reported to produce novel photoactive As-S nanotubes via reduction of As(V) and S(2)O(3)(2-) under anaerobic conditions. Here we report the draft genome sequence and annotation of strain HN-41.

Electrical Transport along Bacterial Nanowires

Bacterial nanowires are extracellular appendages that have been suggested as pathways for electron transport in phylogenetically diverse microorganisms, including dissimilatory metal-reducing bacteria, photosynthetic cyanobacteria, and thermophilic fermentative bacteria. The presence of bacterial nanowires in organisms across the metabolic spectrum challenges our understanding of extracellular electron transfer in microbial communities and has significant biotechnological implications for renewable energy recovery in microbial fuel cells. To date, several biological assays have demonstrated results consistent with electron transport along bacterial nanowires, but our direct knowledge of nanowire conductivity has been limited to local scanning probe measurements across the width of nanowires. We will present electron transport measurements along the length of individually addressed bacterial nanowires derived from electron-acceptor limited chemostat cultures of the dissimilatory metal reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. We will also discuss the results of transport measurements on intact biofilms and the contribution of nanowires to their overall conductivity.

Electrical transport along bacterial nanowires from Shewanella oneidensis MR-1

Bacterial nanowires are extracellular appendages that have been suggested as pathways for electron transport in phylogenetically diverse microorganisms, including dissimilatory metal-reducing bacteria and photosynthetic cyanobacteria. However, there has been no evidence presented to demonstrate electron transport along the length of bacterial nanowires. Here we report electron transport measurements along individually addressed bacterial nanowires derived from electron-acceptor-limited cultures of the dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. Transport along the bacterial nanowires was independently evaluated by two techniques: (i) nanofabricated electrodes patterned on top of individual nanowires, and (ii) conducting probe atomic force microscopy at various points along a single nanowire bridging a metallic electrode and the conductive atomic force microscopy tip. The S. oneidensis MR-1 nanowires were found to be electrically conductive along micrometer-length scales with electron transport rates up to 10(9)/s at 100 mV of applied bias and a measured resistivity on the order of 1 Ω·cm. Mutants deficient in genes for c-type decaheme cytochromes MtrC and OmcA produce appendages that are morphologically consistent with bacterial nanowires, but were found to be nonconductive. The measurements reported here allow for bacterial nanowires to serve as a viable microbial strategy for extracellular electron transport.

Characterization of the Decaheme c-Type Cytochrome OmcA in Solution and on Hematite Surfaces by Small Angle X-Ray Scattering and Neutron Reflectometry

The outer membrane protein OmcA is an 85 kDa decaheme c-type cytochrome located on the surface of the dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. It is assumed to mediate shuttling of electrons to extracellular acceptors that include solid metal oxides such as hematite (α-Fe2O3). No information is yet available concerning OmcA structure in physiologically relevant conditions such as aqueous environments. We purified OmcA and characterized its solution structure by small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS), and its interaction at the hematite-water interface by neutron reflectometry. SAXS showed that OmcA is a monomer that adopts a flat ellipsoidal shape with an overall dimension of 34 × 90 × 65 Å3. To our knowledge, we obtained the first direct evidence that OmcA undergoes a redox state-dependent conformational change in solution whereby reduction decreases the overall length of OmcA by ∼7 Å (the maximum dimension was 96 Å for oxidized OmcA, and 89 Å for NADH and dithionite-reduced OmcA). OmcA was also found to physically interact with electron shuttle molecules such as flavin mononucleotide, resulting in the formation of high-molecular-weight assemblies. Neutron reflectometry showed that OmcA forms a well-defined monomolecular layer on hematite surfaces, where it assumes an orientation that maximizes its contact area with the mineral surface. These novel insights into the molecular structure of OmcA in solution, and its interaction with insoluble hematite and small organic ligands, demonstrate the fundamental structural bases underlying OmcA's role in mediating redox processes.

Electrokinesis is a microbial behavior that requires extracellular electron transport

We report a previously undescribed bacterial behavior termed electrokinesis. This behavior was initially observed as a dramatic increase in cell swimming speed during reduction of solid MnO(2) particles by the dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. The same behavioral response was observed when cells were exposed to small positive applied potentials at the working electrode of a microelectrochemical cell and could be tuned by adjusting the potential on the working electrode. Electrokinesis was found to be different from both chemotaxis and galvanotaxis but was absent in mutants defective in electron transport to solid metal oxides. Using in situ video microscopy and cell tracking algorithms, we have quantified the response for different strains of Shewanella and shown that the response correlates with current-generating capacity in microbial fuel cells. The electrokinetic response was only exhibited by a subpopulation of cells closest to the MnO(2) particles or electrodes. In contrast, the addition of 1 mM 9,10-anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonic acid, a soluble electron shuttle, led to increases in motility in the entire population. Electrokinesis is defined as a behavioral response that requires functional extracellular electron transport and that is observed as an increase in cell swimming speeds and lengthened paths of motion that occur in the proximity of a redox active mineral surface or the working electrode of an electrochemical cell.

Effects of Nickel and Soil Humic Acid During Biological Hematite Reduction byShewanella putrefaciensCN32

The effect of nickel on the reductive dissolution of hematite by the dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium (DMRB) Shewanella putrefaciens CN32 was studied in batch culture mode. Experiments were conducted under nongrowth conditions (108 cell mL−1) with hematite (2.0 g L−1) in 10 mM PIPES (pH 6.8) and H2 as the electron donor, spiked with nickel (0 to 1.63 mM) and soil humic acid (SHA; 100 mg L−1), and incubated for 5 days. Abiotic reductions using hydroxylamine HCl (HA-HCl) assays to estimate microbially reducible Fe(III), and biotic nitrate (0 to 1.43 mM) assays were also performed. A 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) was defined as the nickel concentration that decreased the extent of electron acceptor consumption by 50% compared to a no-nickel control. Nickel addition resulted in a minimal effect on hematite bioreduction (IC50 of 132 mM), however SHA addition significantly increased the inhibitory effect of nickel (IC50 of 0.34 mM). SHA had an insignificant effect on nickel inhibition during nitrate reduction, while abiotic HA-HCl Fe(II) results suggest SHA-Ni(II) complexes may increase bioavailable Fe(III). Fe(II) and Ni(II) sorption to cells and hematite increased in the presence of SHA, suggesting that surface passivation or saturation of sorption surface area through the formation of ternary SHA-Ni(II)–hematite complexes appear responsible for the increased inhibitory effects by nickel observed.

Bacterially enhanced dissolution of meta-autunite

The release of U from the mineral meta-autunite {l_brace}Ca[(UO{sub 2})(PO{sub 2})](H{sub 2}O){sub 6}{r_brace} was evaluated using spectroscopy, aqueous geochemistry, and electron microscopy in a minimal media with the dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium Shewanella putrefaciens 200R. The onset of anaerobic conditions resulted in the rapid release of U and phosphate to solution followed by the reprecipitation of meta-autinite. Spectroscopy measurements (XANES) indicated that the U was not released via reduction during the bacterial incubations, but instead dissolution was promoted by uptake and immobilization of P by the bacterial cells. Our results suggest that U(VI) in 'refractory' P mineral phases may be mobilized from U mill tailings and/or U disposal sites and that the nutrient status (P) of the geologic setting may be a predictor for the lability of U in these environments.