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Cultivable bacteria from concrete raw materials and their potential for self-healing concrete applications

Year: 2026
Type: data-paper
Abstract: Microbially induced mineralization is a promising biotechnological strategy to enhance the durability and service life of concrete structures. Cultivable bacterial assemblages associated with four commonly used concrete constituents-Class F pulverized lignite coal fly ash (FA), Rock No. 5 (R5), natural carbonate rock (RN), and river sand (S)-were characterized, revealing distinct taxonomic and compositional patterns. Culture-dependent enumeration and 16S rRNA gene sequencing were combined with taxonomic assignment and multivariate analyzes. Cultivable bacterial abundance differed significantly among the four concrete raw materials, increasing from FA to S. RN had the highest morphotype richness (26 representative morphotypes), followed by S (13), R5 (8), and FA (2). Correspondence analysis showed clear compositional separation among the four concrete raw materials, with the first two axes explaining 93.82% of the total inertia (F1 = 48.03%; F2 = 45.78%). Functional screening showed urease activity in 24 of 42 representative isolates (57.1%), while isolate responses differed under increasing alkaline and thermal stress. Five urease-positive isolates (RN29, RN44, S01, RN54, and RN36) were prioritized for further investigation based on combinations of alkaline and thermal tolerance, with antifungal activity retained as a supporting trait. These findings provide a culture-dependent bacterial resource and an application-oriented screening framework for subsequent biomineralization and cementitious-material studies, but do not constitute direct evidence of calcium carbonate precipitation or self-healing performance.
DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2026.113373
Language: English
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,220
OpenAlex ID: W7223240298
Cites: 9
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Related to: 10