Resistance to irradiation of micro-algae growing in the storage pools of a nuclear reactor investigated by NMR and neutron spectroscopies

Issue title: From Molecule to Tissue: XIII European Conference on the Spectroscopy of Biological Molecules, Palermo, Italy, August 28–September 2, 2009, Part 2 of 2

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Rivasseau, Corinne^; | Farhi, Emmanuel | Gromova, Marina | Ollivier, Jacques | Bligny, Richard

Affiliations: CEA, DSV, iRTSV, Laboratoire de Physiologie Cellulaire Végétale, CNRS, Grenoble, France | Institut Laue Langevin, Grenoble, France | CEA, DSM, INAC, SCIB, Grenoble, France

Note: [] Corresponding author: Corinne Rivasseau, CEA, DSV, iRTSV, Laboratoire de Physiologie Cellulaire Végétale, UMR5168, CNRS, 17 rue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9, France. Tel.: +33 4 38 78 96 66; Fax: +33 4 38 78 50 91; E-mail: [email protected].

Abstract: A green Chlorophycean micro-alga surviving high irradiation doses has been discovered in the storage pools of a nuclear reactor. Investigating the mechanisms sustaining its properties is of peculiar interest. Metabolic impact of irradiation on the micro-alga as well as structural macromolecular impact were investigated using nuclear magnetic resonance and neutron backscattering spectroscopy. Carbohydrate, amino acid and organic acid content studied as a function of the irradiation dose revealed an intense protein repair activity. Resilience was extracted according to irradiation dose and compared to that of other extremophile species.

Keywords: Nuclear magnetic resonance, neutron backscattering spectroscopy, radioresistance, micro-alga, Chlorophyceae

DOI: 10.3233/SPE-2010-0459

Journal: Spectroscopy, vol. 24, no. 3-4, pp. 381-385, 2010