Fungus, yeast
Rhodotorula taiwanensis
A red basidiomycetous yeast. Strain MD1149 was the most resistant to acidity and gamma radiation among 27 environmental yeasts examined with the acidic radioactive waste sites of the US Department of Energy in mind, where radiation-resistant bacteria such as Deinococcus cannot stand the low pH.
How it works
- Mechanisms
- biosorption
Contaminants
| Contaminant | Evidence | What was shown |
|---|---|---|
| Radionuclides (mixed) | laboratory | A tolerance figure, not a removal one: MD1149 grows under chronic irradiation of 66 Gy/h at pH 2.3 and forms biofilms under these conditions. Its genome has been sequenced and annotated. |
| Mercury | laboratory | The strain grows in the presence of high concentrations of mercury and chromium compounds (tolerance, not measured removal). |
Limits
The paper shows that the yeast survives and forms biofilms where other organisms cannot, not that it immobilises or removes radionuclides: it is a starting point for research, as the title itself says (prospects). No test on real soil or groundwater was found.
Sources
Draft compiled from public sources, not yet reviewed.
Other species for the same contaminants
Species that the literature reports acting on at least one of this one's contaminants, the closest first.
