德国亥姆霍兹德累斯顿-罗森多夫研究中心的科学家发现，当供应甘油作为食物来源时，细菌能够将溶解在水中的有毒铀转化为稳定的化学形式[1]。在对受污染矿井水样品的130天观察期内，约95%的溶解铀消失，细菌将其转化为五价铀与铁和氧结合形成的化合物FeU(V)O4[1]。
通常认为五价铀化合物是不稳定和短暂的，但这项研究首次发现其能以稳定形式存在[1]。将干燥的细菌生物量暴露于氧气中，FeU(V)O4的含量增加而非减少，表明该化合物即使在有氧条件下也能保持稳定[1]。该化合物曾于2020年在克罗地亚铀弹污染土壤样本中首次发现，已保持稳定超过25年[1]。这项研究成果发表于《自然通讯》期刊[1]。
Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf in Germany have identified bacteria capable of transforming dissolved uranium contaminating mine water into a chemically stable compound [1]. When supplied with glycerol as a food source, the bacteria converted approximately 95 percent of the dissolved uranium from contaminated mine water samples within 130 days, leaving only about 5 percent remaining in solution [1].
The bacteria accumulated uranium in their cell walls, converting it into a rare pentavalent uranium compound, FeU(V)O₄, which forms through the combination of uranium with iron and oxygen [1]. This compound is ordinarily considered unstable and short-lived, but the study represents the first demonstration of its capacity to exist in a stable form [1]. The same compound was first discovered in 2020 in soil samples contaminated by uranium munitions in Croatia, where it has remained stable for over 25 years [1]. When dried bacterial biomass was exposed to oxygen, the FeU(V)O₄ content increased rather than decreased, indicating the compound maintains stability even under aerobic conditions [1].
The findings were published in Nature Communications on August 9, 2026 [1].