Radiation drives a mechanism shift for efficient removal of uranium by Kocuria rosea

Uranium-contaminated sites are frequently characterized by high-intensity radiation, which poses a substantial challenge to traditional bioremediation technologies. While microbial interactions with uranium are extensively studied, their efficiency and mechanisms under radiation remain poorly understood. Here, we present a radiation-tolerant microbe, Kocuria rosea , and its removal mechanism for U(VI) in an irradiated system. We reveal remarkable tolerance of Kocuria rosea to radiation and uranium, showing 40.9% of cells survive after 6000 Gy irradiation (25 Gy/min) in 50 mg/L uranium stress. We demonstrate a radiation-dependent shift in the removal mechanism of U(VI)—from biosorption and biomineralization forming H 2 (UO 2 ) 2 (PO 4 ) 2 ⋅8 H 2 O and CaU(PO 4 ) 2 in non-irradiated systems to enhanced reduction and inhibited biomineralization under irradiation—responsible for 42% and 7.23% improvement in U(VI) immobilization and reduction capacities, reaching 238.12 mg/g removal capacity. This work advances our understanding of the removal mechanism of microorganisms for uranium under irradiation, offering a new, efficient microbial remediation strategy for radionuclides.