Researchers have demonstrated for the first time that bacteria can convert uranium dissolved in water into a stable chemical compound when supplied with glycerol as a food source. The discovery offers new insight into how naturally occurring microbes could one day help limit the spread of uranium pollution in contaminated environments.
The study was led by researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) in Germany, in collaboration with Wismut GmbH and the University of Granada in Spain. The findings were published in Nature Communications.
Uranium contamination is a persistent problem at former mining sites and other polluted areas. Once dissolved in water, uranium can travel through groundwater and soil, making contamination difficult to contain. Researchers have long explored whether bacteria could help immobilize the radioactive metal by converting it into less mobile forms.
Researchers recreate underground conditions
To investigate, the team collected water from a flooded uranium mine operated by Wismut GmbH in Germany’s Ore Mountains. They recreated the mine’s oxygen-free conditions in the laboratory and added glycerol, a naturally occurring compound that bacteria can use as an energy source.
The bacteria thrived under these conditions and gradually removed uranium from the water. After 130 days, only about 5% of the dissolved uranium remained. Analysis showed that the bacteria had trapped the metal within their cell walls.
Rare uranium form surprises scientists
Researchers then examined the transformed uranium using advanced microscopy and spectroscopy at the Rossendorf Beamline of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in France, along with additional analysis at the University of Granada.
The team found an unexpected result. Much of the uranium had been converted into pentavalent uranium, or uranium(V), a rare chemical state previously thought to exist only briefly before changing into more common forms.
Scientists have discovered that bacteria can transform dissolved uranium in water into a stable chemical compound when fed glycerol. The study marks the first evidence that microbes can produce this long-lasting form of uranium. pic.twitter.com/ULIDgIss4M
— Tom Marvolo Riddle (@tom_riddle2025) July 10, 2026
Further analysis showed that the uranium had combined with iron and oxygen to form the compound FeU(V)O4. Although the compound was first identified in contaminated Croatian soil in 2020, scientists had not known how it formed naturally or that bacteria were involved in the process.
Findings point to future cleanup research
Additional experiments revealed that FeU(V)O4 remained stable even after the dried bacterial material was exposed to oxygen. The finding suggests bacteria can produce a long-lasting uranium compound under conditions that may resemble those found in nature.
Researchers said the study provides the first evidence that bacteria supplied with glycerol can transform dissolved uranium into this stable form. While the results highlight the promise of microbial processes for environmental remediation, they cautioned that more research is needed before the approach can be applied outside the laboratory.
Future studies will focus on understanding how uranium-binding bacteria carry out the transformation and whether the process can be adapted to help clean contaminated groundwater and former uranium mining sites.
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