Microbial Weathering of Minerals and Rocks in Natural Environments

Samuels, Toby; Bryce, Casey; Landenmark, Hanna; Marie-Loudon, Claire; Nicholson, Natasha; Stevens, Adam; Cockell, Charles S.

doi:10.1002/9781119413332.ch3

Cited by 25 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 138 publications

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“…Microbe-mineral interactions are fundamental to many processes taking place in the environment such as rock weathering, nutrient release, toxic metal(loid) mobilization, and greenhouse gas formation [91]. However, the combination of soft biological material with hard minerals brings unique challenges to imaging these interactions at nanoscale resolution.…”

Section: Geomicrobiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Bio-imaging with the helium-ion microscope: A review

Schmidt¹,

Byrne²,

Maasilta³

2021

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol.

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Scanning helium-ion microscopy (HIM) is an imaging technique with sub-nanometre resolution and is a powerful tool to resolve some of the tiniest structures in biology. In many aspects, the HIM resembles a field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), but the use of helium ions rather than electrons provides several advantages, including higher surface sensitivity, larger depth of field, and a straightforward charge-compensating electron flood gun, which enables imaging of non-conductive samples, rendering HIM a promising high-resolution imaging technique for biological samples. Starting with studies focused on medical research, the last decade has seen some particularly spectacular high-resolution images in studies focused on plants, microbiology, virology, and geomicrobiology. However, HIM is not just an imaging technique. The ability to use the instrument for milling biological objects as small as viruses offers unique opportunities which are not possible with more conventional focused ion beams, such as gallium. Several pioneering technical developments, such as methods to couple secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) or ionoluminescence with the HIM, also offer the possibility for new and exciting research on biological materials. In this review, we present a comprehensive overview of almost all currently published literature which has demonstrated the application of HIM for imaging of biological specimens. We also discuss some technical features of this unique type of instrument and highlight some of the new advances which will likely become more widely used in the years to come.

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Section: Geomicrobiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Bio-imaging with the helium-ion microscope: A review

Schmidt¹,

Byrne²,

Maasilta³

2021

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol.

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“…et al, 2001). The main mechanisms usually related to bacterial weathering include pH changes surrounding the mineral particle and proton promoted dissolution, chelation of elements present in a mineral matrix or the soil, and redox reactions (Figure 2; Samuels et al, 2020).…”

Section: Direct Mechanisms Of Mineral Weathering By Bacteria: a Genermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some of the most frequent organic acids include formic, citric, gluconic, acetic, lactic, oxalic, succinic, and pyruvic acids. These substances are usually byproducts of the metabolism of carbon sources (Zhu et al, 2014;Samuels et al, 2020).…”

Section: Direct Mechanisms Of Mineral Weathering By Bacteria: a Genermentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Mineral Weathering Bacteria to Enhance Nutrient Availability in Crops: A Review

et al. 2020

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Rock powders are low-cost potential sources of most of the nutrients required by higher plants for growth and development. However, slow dissolution rates of minerals represent an obstacle to the widespread use of rock powders in agriculture. Rhizosphere processes and biological weathering may further enhance mineral dissolution since the interaction between minerals, plants, and bacteria results in the release of macro- and micronutrients into the soil solution. Plants are important agents in this process acting directly in the mineral dissolution or sustaining a wide diversity of weathering microorganisms in the root environment. Meanwhile, root microorganisms promote mineral dissolution by producing complexing ligands (siderophores and organic acids), affecting the pH (via organic or inorganic acid production), or performing redox reactions. Besides that, a wide variety of rhizosphere bacteria and fungi could also promote plant development directly, synergistically contributing to the weathering activity performed by plants. The inoculation of weathering bacteria in soil or plants, especially combined with the use of crushed rocks, can increase soil fertility and improve crop production. This approach is more sustainable than conventional fertilization practices, which may contribute to reducing climate change linked to agricultural activity. Besides, it could decrease the dependency of developing countries on imported fertilizers, thus improving local development.

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“…Given a gas phase of ~100 % H2 in an H2 storage system, the equilibrium solubility of H2 exceeds the highest threshold value of an H2consuming microorganism of 3.6 µM ( Nutrients may be assimilated from the solution or directly from minerals (e.g., [76][77][78][79]), the latter being of particular importance in oligotrophic environments [77]. Carbon, sulfur, phosphorous and iron are amongst the key elements released by mineral weathering [77]. The extent to which subsurface microbial communities depend on mineral weathering is unknown [77].…”

Section: Nutrientsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Carbon, sulfur, phosphorous and iron are amongst the key elements released by mineral weathering [77]. The extent to which subsurface microbial communities depend on mineral weathering is unknown [77]. For soils, Huang et al [80] analyzed that >50 % of the 1100 microbial strains were capable of mineral weathering, as tested by their ability to mineralize biotite.…”

Section: Nutrientsmentioning

confidence: 99%

¬Estimating Microbial Hydrogen Consumption in Hydrogen Storage in Porous Media as a Basis for Site Selection

Thaysen¹,

McMahon²,

Butler³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Subsurface storage of hydrogen, e.g. in depleted gas or oil fields (DOGF), is suggested as a means to overcome imbalances between supply and demand in the renewable energy sector. However, hydrogen is an electron donor for subsurface microbial processes, which may have important implications for hydrogen recovery, gas injectivity and corrosion. Here, we review the controls on the three major hydrogen consuming processes in the subsurface, methanogenesis, homoacetogenesis, and sulfate reduction, as a basis to develop a hydrogen storage site selection tool. Testing our tool on 42 DOGF showed that seven of the fields may be considered sterile with respect to hydrogenconsuming microbiota due to either temperatures >122 °C or salinities >5 M NaCl. Only three fields can sustain all of the hydrogen consuming processes, due to either temperature, salinity or pressure constraints in the remaining fields. We calculated a potential microbial growth in the order of 1-17*10 7 cells ml-1 for these fields. The associated hydrogen consumption is negligible to small (<0.01-3.2 % of the stored hydrogen). Our results can help inform decisions about where hydrogen will be stored in the future.

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Microbial Weathering of Minerals and Rocks in Natural Environments

Cited by 25 publications

References 138 publications

Bio-imaging with the helium-ion microscope: A review

Bio-imaging with the helium-ion microscope: A review

Use of Mineral Weathering Bacteria to Enhance Nutrient Availability in Crops: A Review

¬Estimating Microbial Hydrogen Consumption in Hydrogen Storage in Porous Media as a Basis for Site Selection

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