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Published October 2005 | public
Journal Article

Fe(III) mineral formation and cell encrustation by the nitrate-dependent Fe(II)-oxidizer strain BoFeN1

Abstract

Understanding the mechanisms of anaerobic microbial iron cycling is necessary for a full appreciation of present-day biogeochemical cycling of iron and carbon and for drawing conclusions about these cycles on the ancient Earth. Towards that end, we isolated and characterized an anaerobic nitrate-dependent Fe(II)-oxidizing bacterium from a freshwater sediment. The 16SrRNA gene sequence of the isolated bacterium (strain BoFeN1) places it within the β-Proteobacteria, with Acidovorax sp. strain G8B1 as the closest known relative. During mixotrophic growth with acetate plus Fe(II) and nitrate as electron acceptor, strain BoFeN1 forms Fe(III) mineral crusts around the cells. The amount of the organic cosubstrate acetate present seems to control the rate and extent of Fe(II) oxidation and the viability of the cells. The crystallinity of the mineral products is influenced by nucleation by Fe minerals that are already present in the inoculum.

Additional Information

© 2006 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Received 25 July 2005; accepted 14 December 2005. We would like to thank E. Ottesen and Jared R. Leadbetter for help with the sequence analysis, T. Teal for help with the confocal laser microscope, R. E. Mielke for assistance with the transmission and environmental scanning electron microscopy, and N. Dalleska for help with the GC-MS and IC analysis. We would also like to acknowledge Kristina Straub and two anonymous reviewers for valuable comments that significantly improved the quality of the manuscript. The research was supported by a fellowship from the German Research Foundation (DFG) to AK and a grant from the Packard Foundation to DKN.

Additional details

Created:
August 22, 2023
Modified:
October 23, 2023