Morphogenesis of Self-Assembled Nanocrystalline Materials of Barium Carbonate and Silica

García‐Ruiz, Juan Manuel; Melero‐García, Emilio; Hyde, Stephen T.

doi:10.1126/science.1165349

Cited by 234 publications

(398 citation statements)

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“…Biomimetic forms may be achieved also by solely inorganic chemicals, like silica, barium and calcium and are called biomorphs; they were aptly described by the group around Garcia-Ruiz [27]. Both scientific teams warn before various attempts to identify extraterrestrial bacterial like microfossil forms (like the already mentioned one from Allan Hills, see also [24]) or paleontological sources as the signs of primitive living beings.…”

Section: Nanobacteria and Their Biological Statusmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Nanobacteria and Nanovesicles May Tell Us about the Origin of Life?

Jerman¹

2017

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In contemporary, established biology life is almost exclusively treated as a molecular phenomenon. Therefore, the mystery of the origin of life is sought in molecular terms and processes. But according to certain advanced researches and considerations, life has also other essential "ingredients": active and diffused organized information and a specific physical as well as physicochemical state of matter characterized by long range order and coherent domains. These characteristics should also form the basis of the pre-biotic evolution, the phase of more or less organized nano-and micro-vesicular systems that lead from abiotic to living systems. In this view, the complex molecular, physical and physicochemical order replaces the DNA molecule in its capability to maintain the stability of information complexity from generation to generation. Such systems were already found on the present day Earth and even within organisms and were also synthetically reproduced. They are called nanobacteria and in general nanovesicles or nanoparticles. They may represent an actual passage from non living forms to primitive organisms. Subject AreasEvolutionary Studies

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Section: Nanobacteria and Their Biological Statusmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Nanobacteria and Nanovesicles May Tell Us about the Origin of Life?

Jerman¹

2017

OALib

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“…It has been noted that the helical structure can be chemically formed (96,97). However, a very specific chemical reaction is necessary to create the helical form, as indicated by García-Ruiz et al (97). Moreover, the major component of the chemically produced helical structure is a barium-containing silica-carbonate.…”

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confidence: 99%

Comparative Analysis of Microbial Communities in Iron-Dominated Flocculent Mats in Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Environments

Makita

Kikuchi

Mitsunobu

et al. 2016

Appl Environ Microbiol

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It has been suggested that iron is one of the most important energy sources for photosynthesis-independent microbial ecosystems in the ocean crust. Iron-metabolizing chemolithoautotrophs play a key role as primary producers, but little is known about their distribution and diversity and their ecological role as submarine iron-metabolizing chemolithotrophs, particularly the iron oxidizers. In this study, we investigated the microbial communities in several iron-dominated flocculent mats found in deep-sea hydrothermal fields in the Mariana Volcanic Arc and Trough and the Okinawa Trough by culture-independent molecular techniques and X-ray mineralogical analyses. The abundance and composition of the 16S rRNA gene phylotypes demonstrated the ubiquity of zetaproteobacterial phylotypes in iron-dominated mat communities affected by hydrothermal fluid input. Electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis and X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) analysis revealed the chemical and mineralogical signatures of biogenic Fe-(oxy)hydroxide species and the potential contribution of Zetaproteobacteria to the in situ generation. These results suggest that putative iron-oxidizing chemolithoautotrophs play a significant ecological role in producing iron-dominated flocculent mats and that they are important for iron and carbon cycles in deep-sea low-temperature hydrothermal environments. IMPORTANCEWe report novel aspects of microbiology from iron-dominated flocculent mats in various deep-sea environments. In this study, we examined the relationship between Zetaproteobacteria and iron oxides across several hydrothermally influenced sites in the deep sea. We analyzed iron-dominated mats using culture-independent molecular techniques and X-ray mineralogical analyses. The scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy SEM-EDS analysis and X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) analysis revealed chemical and mineralogical signatures of biogenic Fe-(oxy)hydroxide species as well as the potential contribution of the zetaproteobacterial population to the in situ production. These key findings provide important information for understanding the mechanisms of both geomicrobiological iron cycling and the formation of iron-dominated mats in deepsea hydrothermal fields. Iron is one of the most common elements on Earth and is the fourth most abundant element in the Earth's crust. Iron has a wide range of oxidation states but exists mostly in a ϩ2 or ϩ3 state in the natural environment. The valence of iron depends on the prevailing environmental physicochemical conditions, such as pH, O 2 concentration, and redox potential. Iron occurs in many mineral phases, including (hydr)oxides, carbonates, silicates, and sulfides. The oxidation of ferrous to ferric iron releases energy, which is harnessed by some iron-oxidizing prokaryotes. Ferrous iron is stable under anoxic conditions but can autoxidize in air. Some microbial communities that are unable to use solar energy via photosynthesis use energy from iron ...

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“…Strategies inspired by biomineralization have been explored as potential routes to controlling growth and self-assembly from the molecular level via tailored microenvironments, epitaxy and inorganic or organic additives (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24). Yet although these have produced some interesting spherical, spiral, leaf-like, and other shapes (25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32), it is rather disappointing that the appearance of various forms in synthetic systems is often unexpected and the attempts to identify the mechanisms of their formation are generally assessed a posteriori..…”

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confidence: 99%