Effects of legacy nuclear waste on the compositional diversity and distributions of sulfate-reducing bacteria in a terrestrial subsurface aquifer

The impact of legacy nuclear waste on the compositional diversity and distribution of sulfate-reducing bacteria in a heavily contaminated subsurface aquifer was examined. dsrAB clone libraries were constructed and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis used to evaluate genetic variation between sampling wells. Principal component analysis identified nickel, nitrate, technetium, and organic carbon as the primary variables contributing to well-to-well geochemical variability, although comparative sequence analysis showed the sulfate-reducing bacteria community structure to be consistent throughout contaminated and uncontaminated regions of the aquifer. Only 3% of recovered dsrAB gene sequences showed apparent membership to the Deltaproteobacteria. The remainder of recovered sequences may represent novel, deep-branching lineages that, to our knowledge, do not presently contain any cultivated members; although corresponding phylotypes have recently been reported from several different marine ecosystems. These findings imply resiliency and adaptability of sulfate-reducing bacteria to extremes in environmental conditions, although the possibility for horizontal transfer of dsrAB is also discussed.