The effects of K+ growth conditions on the accumulation of cesium by the bacterium Thermus sp. TibetanG6

The accumulation of cesium by the bacterium Thermus sp. TibetanG6 was examined under different K⁺ growth conditions. The effects of external pH and Na⁺ on the accumulation of cesium were also studied, and the mechanism involved was discussed. K⁺ regimes played an important role in the accumulation of cesium by the strain TibetanG6. The quantity of cesium accumulated (24 h) was much higher in K⁺-deficient regime than that in K⁺-sufficient regime. The pH and Na⁺ had different effects on the accumulation of cesium in the two K⁺ regimes. IR spectra analyses indicated that the biosorption is a process of homeostasis with cesium initially accumulated on the cell wall.