Experimental Evidence for the Role of Natural Radioactivity in Influencing Viability of Commensal Microorganisms

Abstract

To investigate the feasibility of culturing edible microbes, classified as probiotics for human consumption, in commercially available, naturally radioactive, mineral water; to compare their viability with that of the same microbes cultured in deuterium-depleted water. A diversified array of probiotics was cultured in two different naturally radioactive mineral waters, or in deuterium-depleted water in order to assess the effects of different culture conditions on microbial viability. Prebiotic microbes for human consumption (cyanobacteria) that are extremely resistant to radiations, were cultured together with the probiotics in a naturally radioactive carbonated mineral water containing silica from vegetal origin introduced to enhance horizontal gene transfer. This co-culture had the goal of transferring radiation resistance from the cyanobacteria to the probiotics. The experiments and the observations described in this study were conducted from April 2020 until March 2021. Culturing microbes in naturally radioactive mineral water yielded one order of magnitude more live microbial cells in comparison with culturing in deuterium-depleted water. In silico observations suggest that expression of DNA repair genes in cyanobacteria is induced by co-culturing conditions in a medium of carbonated mineral water naturally containing the radioactive isotopes ²²⁸U and ²²⁶Ra. The results presented in this study lay the foundation for the development of a novel approach to protection against electromagnetic fields comprising ionizing and non-ionizing radiations. In silico observations and preliminary results on subjects exposed to common electromagnetic fields under real-life conditions, support the hypothesis that co-cultures of radiation-resistant cyanobacteria and probiotics in naturally radioactive, carbonated mineral water may confer protection against the harmful effects of electromagnetic fields.