Etude et modélisation de la biosorption des métaux par les bactéries. Application au transfert du cadmium et du zinc, seuls ou en mélange par Escherichia coli et Cupriavidus metallidurans en colonnes de sable d'Hostun

Recent field observations have demonstrated that supposedly poorly mobile metals can be detected at long distances from their source, highlighting the importance of poorly predicted transport processes. The fast mobilisation of metals by the colloidal and mobile fraction of soils and in particular biotic colloids (bacteria, algae, fungi, virus, etc.), is now identified as an important secondary transport process that can lead, under specific conditions, to accelerated and potentially dominant pollutant transfer towards aquifers. In order to better understand the role of the bacterial compartment of soils to metal leaching, we conducted a coupled study under static and dynamic conditions. Firstly we evaluated Zn and Cd metal biosorption onto active or inactive Gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34) by characterizing the sub-cellular distribution of the metals through a cell disruption approach. The quantification of Zn and Cd in extracellular, membrane and cytoplasm compartments of the cells permitted to show that metals are unequally distributed between the three cell compartments and also between the two bacteria. Surprisingly, metals internalization appeared to be the dominant accumulation process of metals (high cytoplasm contents). The physiological state of the cells was also shown to be important in metal management by the bacteria, since metal accumulation in active cells was reduced due to enhanced efflux and/or EPS production mechanisms. These results suggest bacteria can internalize important amounts of heavy metals and also that adsorption onto cell surface is only a first step in metal management by bacteria. The so-determined thermo-dynamic reactivity constants were used to fit metal breakthrough curves performed in natural sand columns. The transport experiments of bacterial cells, metals or mixtures of bacteria and/or metals performed in the second part of the study, demonstrated that bacteria are able to accelerate the in situ mobilization of Cd and Zn retained in natural sand columns. This transport process was shown to be dominant upon aqueous transport and was correctly fitted using a combined transfer and geochemical modelling approach. Altogether, these results showed that, under specific conditions, heavy metal transport by bacterial cells can dominate aqueous transport processes in soils.Recent field observations have demonstrated that supposedly poorly mobile metals can be detected at long distances from their source, highlighting the importance of poorly predicted transport processes. The fast mobilisation of metals by the colloidal and mobile fraction of soils and in particular biotic colloids (bacteria, algae, fungi, virus, etc.), is now identified as an important secondary transport process that can lead, under specific conditions, to accelerated and potentially dominant pollutant transfer towards aquifers. In order to better understand the role of the bacterial compartment of soils to metal leaching, we conducted a coupled study under static and dynamic conditions. Firstly we evaluated Zn and Cd metal biosorption onto active or inactive Gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34) by characterizing the sub-cellular distribution of the metals through a cell disruption approach. The quantification of Zn and Cd in extracellular, membrane and cytoplasm compartments of the cells permitted to show that metals are unequally distributed between the three cell compartments and also between the two bacteria. Surprisingly, metals internalization appeared to be the dominant accumulation process of metals (high cytoplasm contents). The physiological state of the cells was also shown to be important in metal management by the bacteria, since metal accumulation in active cells was reduced due to enhanced efflux and/or EPS production mechanisms. These results suggest bacteria can internalize important amounts of heavy metals and also that adsorption onto cell surface is only a first step in metal management by bacteria. The so-determined thermo-dynamic reactivity constants were used to fit metal breakthrough curves performed in natural sand columns. The transport experiments of bacterial cells, metals or mixtures of bacteria and/or metals performed in the second part of the study, demonstrated that bacteria are able to accelerate the in situ mobilization of Cd and Zn retained in natural sand columns. This transport process was shown to be dominant upon aqueous transport and was correctly fitted using a combined transfer and geochemical modelling approach. Altogether, these results showed that, under specific conditions, heavy metal transport by bacterial cells can dominate aqueous transport processes in soils