Microbial mediated formation of Fe-carbonate minerals under extreme acidic conditions
Open accessAbstract
Discovery of Fe-carbonate precipitation in Rio Tinto, a shallow river with very acidic waters, situated in Huelva, South-western Spain, adds a new dimension to our understanding of carbonate formation. Sediment samples from this low-pH system indicate that carbonates are formed in physico-chemical conditions ranging from acid to neutral pH. Evidence for microbial mediation is observed in secondary electron images (Fig. 1), which reveal rod-shaped bacteria embedded in the surface of siderite nanocrystals. The formation of carbonates in Rio Tinto is related to the microbial reduction of ferric iron coupled to the oxidation of organic compounds. Herein, we demonstrate for the first time, that Acidiphilium sp. PM, an iron-reducing bacterium isolated from Rio Tinto, mediates the precipitation of siderite (FeCO3) under acidic conditions and at a low temperature (30°C). We describe nucleation of siderite on nanoglobules in intimate association with the bacteria cell surface. This study has major implications for understanding carbonate formation on the ancient Earth or extraterrestrial planets.
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The presence of bacterial voids within dolomite crystals and bacterial moulds provides additional evidence for microbial involvement, as such features are typical characteristics of bacterially mediated carbonate precipitation.
“The presence of bacterial voids within the dolomite crystals and bacterial moulds provides additional evidence for microbial involvement, as such features are typical characteristics of bacterially mediated carbonate precipitation (Sánchez- Román etal.,2014, 2023, 2025; Yao etal.,2024).”
From Microbial mediation and climatic control on dolomite precipitation in a hypersaline lake: Insights from Salinas Lake, southern Iberia (2026) · cites this paper as Sánchez-Román et al., 2014
The Discussion (§ Bacterial nucleation and precipitation of carbonate; page unavailable) describes mineralized bacteria within siderite crystals as evidence of bacterial precipitation. That supports the broader inference from bacteria-associated crystal features, but the paper does not identify bacterial voids or moulds in dolomite crystals as typical characteristics of bacterially mediated carbonate precipitation. (LLM, conf=0.82)
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References 58 · Cited by 98
Research works printed but not linked: 27
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- Authors
- Sánchez-Román, M., Fernández-Remolar, D., Amils, R., Sánchez-Navas, A., Schmid, T., Martin-Uriz, P. S., Rodríguez, N., McKenzie, J. A., & Vasconcelos, C.
- Affiliations
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ES)
- ETH Zurich (CH)
- Venue
- Scientific Reports
- Published
- 2014-04-23
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 4767-4767
- ISSN
- 2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3996482
- OpenAlex
- W1984087100
- Cited by
- 98
- References
- 58
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 4
- FWCI
- 4.38
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (publishedVersion)
- VU Research Portal (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- Repository for Publications and Research Data (ETH Zurich) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Tesis Doctorals en Xarxa (Consorci de Serveis Universitaris de Catalunya) (publishedVersion)
- Institutional Repository of the University of Granada (University of Granada) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- DIGITAL.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Hispana (submittedVersion)
- Biblos-e Archivo (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) (submittedVersion, public-domain)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- ETH Zürich Research Collection
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geochemistry and Petrology › Geochemistry and Elemental Analysis
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Microbial Applications in Construction Materials
- Keywords
- siderite precipitation, microbial mediation, iron-reducing bacteria, Rio Tinto, acidic water, organic matter oxidation, carbonate formation, low-temperature mineralization
- MeSH terms
- Carbonates, Hydrogen-Ion Concentration, Iron, Minerals, Geologic Sediments
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