[en] The aims of our work are the study of the sorption of radionuclides by bacteria as the first step in the microorganism-metal interaction. The latter involves the fixation of ions on a surface layer and it results in the immobilization of the metal, thus possibly being the primary step of bioaccumulation. After a rapid presentation of the direct and indirect mechanisms of the interactions, we shall present our experiments of radionuclide biosorption by bacteria. A salient feature of biosorption is the selectivity of the adsorption of some radionuclides from a composed solution. For example, Andres et al. (1993, 1995) have shown that Mycobacterium smegmatis, from a composed solution containing uranium, thorium, lanthanum, europium and ytterbium, selectively adsorbs thorium ions. The sequence of preferential fixation is: Th⁴⁺ > UO₂²⁺ > La³⁺ = Eu³⁺ = Yb³⁺. This selectivity is a function of the cell wall organization and of the speciation of the metal in the solution. Yet, each species of bacteria has characteristic and specific cell wall layer composition and organization. Moreover, the culture and the environmental conditions change the surface layer properties. Another parameter in the migration of radionuclides is the transfer from the soil to the microorganisms. In column experiments, Gd, and likely the rare earths, in general, adsorbed on sand can be removed with a suspension of bacteria (Thouand and Andres 1997). These examples will be discussed and serve as a basis to illustrate the diversity of the interactions between microorganisms and radionuclides