Rates and potential mechanism of anaerobic nitrate-dependent microbial pyrite oxidation

Bosch, Julian

doi:10.1042/bst20120102

Cited by 25 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…The role of aerobic microorganisms in Fe 2+ -containing minerals oxidation is well studied for acidophiles and much less studied for neutrophiles. Still, there are several reports on the ability of aerobic neutrophilic microorganisms to pyrite oxidation [62][63][64]. Besides pyrite, ferrous iron from secondary layered silicates of hornblende, smectite, chlorite, and hydromicas groups present in sediments of CHS could serve as the electron donor for thermophilic lithotrophs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hot in Cold: Microbial Life in the Hottest Springs in Permafrost

et al. 2020

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Chukotka is an arctic region located in the continuous permafrost zone, but thermal springs are abundant there. In this study, for the first time, the microbial communities of the Chukotka hot springs (CHS) biofilms and sediments with temperatures 54–94 °C were investigated and analyzed by NGS sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons. In microbial mats (54–75 °C), phototrophic bacteria of genus Chloroflexus dominated (up to 89% of all prokaryotes), while Aquificae were the most numerous at higher temperatures in Fe-rich sediments and filamentous “streamers” (up to 92%). The electron donors typical for Aquificae, such as H2S and H2, are absent or present only in trace amounts, and the prevalence of Aquificae might be connected with their ability to oxidize the ferrous iron present in CHS sediments. Armatimonadetes, Proteobacteria, Deinococcus-Thermus, Dictyoglomi, and Thermotogae, as well as uncultured bacteria (candidate divisions Oct-Spa1-106, GAL15, and OPB56), were numerous, and Cyanobacteria were present in low numbers. Archaea (less than 8% of the total community of each tested spring) belonged to Bathyarchaeota, Aigarchaeota, and Thaumarchaeota. The geographical location and the predominantly autotrophic microbial community, built on mechanisms other than the sulfur cycle-based ones, make CHS a special and unique terrestrial geothermal ecosystem.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hot in Cold: Microbial Life in the Hottest Springs in Permafrost

et al. 2020

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“…NO as oxidants, while others have only been shown to oxidize nonsulfide reduced inorganic sulfur compounds (Bosch & Meckenstock, 2012;Hutt et al, 2017;Monachon et al, 2019). Some MAGs related to Thiobacillus in DNA and cDNA (from RNA) extracted from Coast Range Ophiolite groundwaters encoded homologs of proteins involved in sulfide oxidation (Sabuda et al, 2020).…”

Section: Microbial Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Aqueous Geochemical and Microbial Variation Across Discrete Depth Intervals in a Peridotite Aquifer Assessed Using a Packer System in the Samail Ophiolite, Oman

et al. 2021

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The potential for molecular hydrogen ( 2 H ) generated via serpentinization to fuel subsurface microbial ecosystems independent from photosynthesis has prompted biogeochemical investigations of serpentinization-influenced fluids. However, investigations typically sample via surface seeps or open-borehole pumping, which can mix chemically distinct waters from different depths. Depthindiscriminate sampling methods could thus hinder understanding of the spatial controls on nutrient availability for microbial life. To resolve distinct groundwaters in a low-temperature serpentinizing environment, we deployed packers (tools that seal against borehole walls during pumping) in two 400m -deep, peridotite-hosted wells in the Samail Ophiolite, Oman. Isolation and pumping of discrete intervals as deep as 108m to 132m below ground level revealed multiple aquifers that ranged in pH from 8 to 11. Chemical analyses and 16S rRNA gene sequencing of deep, highly reacted

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“…In such subsurface environments, the pH has the potential to remain largely circumneutral due to the buffering capacity of carbonate and silicate minerals (Nicholson et al, 1988; Vear & Curtis, 1981). While there is a growing body of literature on the circumneutral chemolithotrophic microbial oxidation of pyrite coupled to denitrification (Bosch & Meckenstock, 2012; Haaijer et al, 2007; Jørgensen et al, 2009), fewer studies have examined aerobic oxidation of pyrite by neutrophilic chemolithotrophs. The growth of such organisms has been previously suggested in hydrothermal habitats (Edwards et al, 2003; Wirsen et al, 1993) and subglacial ecosystems (Boyd et al, 2014; Harrold et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial chemolithotrophic oxidation of pyrite in a subsurface shale weathering environment: Geologic considerations and potential mechanisms

et al. 2021

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Oxidative weathering of pyrite plays an important role in the biogeochemical cycling of Fe and S in terrestrial environments. While the mechanism and occurrence of biologically accelerated pyrite oxidation under acidic conditions are well established, much less is known about microbially mediated pyrite oxidation at circumneutral pH. Recent work (Percak‐Dennett et al., 2017, Geobiology, 15, 690) has demonstrated the ability of aerobic chemolithotrophic microorganisms to accelerate pyrite oxidation at circumneutral pH and proposed two mechanistic models by which this phenomenon might occur. Here, we assess the potential relevance of aerobic microbially catalyzed circumneutral pH pyrite oxidation in relation to subsurface shale weathering at Susquehanna Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory (SSHCZO) in Pennsylvania, USA. Specimen pyrite mixed with native shale was incubated in groundwater for 3 months at the inferred depth of in situ pyrite oxidation. The colonized materials were used as an inoculum for pyrite‐oxidizing enrichment cultures. Microbial activity accelerated the release of sulfate across all conditions. 16S rRNA gene sequencing and metagenomic analysis revealed the dominance of a putative chemolithoautotrophic sulfur‐oxidizing bacterium from the genus Thiobacillus in the enrichment cultures. Previously proposed models for aerobic microbial pyrite oxidation were assessed in terms of physical constraints, enrichment culture geochemistry, and metagenomic analysis. Although we conclude that subsurface pyrite oxidation at SSCHZO is largely abiotic, this work nonetheless yields new insight into the potential pathways by which aerobic microorganisms may accelerate pyrite oxidation at circumneutral pH. We propose a new “direct sulfur oxidation” pathway, whereby sulfhydryl‐bearing outer membrane proteins mediate oxidation of pyrite surfaces through a persulfide intermediate, analogous to previously proposed mechanisms for direct microbial oxidation of elemental sulfur. The action of this and other direct microbial pyrite oxidation pathways have major implications for controls on pyrite weathering rates in circumneutral pH sedimentary environments where pore throat sizes permit widespread access of microorganisms to pyrite surfaces.

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Rates and potential mechanism of anaerobic nitrate-dependent microbial pyrite oxidation

Cited by 25 publications

References 37 publications

Hot in Cold: Microbial Life in the Hottest Springs in Permafrost

Hot in Cold: Microbial Life in the Hottest Springs in Permafrost

Aqueous Geochemical and Microbial Variation Across Discrete Depth Intervals in a Peridotite Aquifer Assessed Using a Packer System in the Samail Ophiolite, Oman

Microbial chemolithotrophic oxidation of pyrite in a subsurface shale weathering environment: Geologic considerations and potential mechanisms

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