Bioenergetic challenges of microbial iron metabolisms
Abstract
Before cyanobacteria invented oxygenic photosynthesis and O_2 and H_2O began to cycle between respiration and photosynthesis, redox cycles between other elements were used to sustain microbial metabolism on a global scale. Today these cycles continue to occur in more specialized niches. In this review we focus on the bioenergetic aspects of one of these cycles – the iron cycle – because iron presents unique and fascinating challenges for cells that use it for energy. Although iron is an important nutrient for nearly all life forms, we restrict our discussion to energy-yielding pathways that use ferrous iron [Fe(II)] as an electron donor or ferric iron [Fe(III)] as an electron acceptor. We briefly review general concepts in bioenergetics, focusing on what is known about the mechanisms of electron transfer in Fe(II)-oxidizing and Fe(III)-reducing bacteria, and highlight aspects of their bioenergetic pathways that are poorly understood.
Additional Information
© 2011 Elsevier Ltd. Revised 30 April 2011; accepted 3 May 2011. Available online 12 June 2011. We thank Jeffrey Gralnick and Daniel Bond for helpful conversations, and Sebastian Kopf for assistance in thermodynamic calculations. D.K.N. and L.J.B. are supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 24707
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.tim.2011.05.001
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20110805-100811696
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)
- Created
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2011-08-05Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-09Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences