Metal Ion Immobilization by Bacterial Surfaces in Freshwater Environments

Abstract

Abstract Bacteria are ubiquitous life forms and occur throughout most natural environments. Consequently, they have developed a full spectrum of metabolic functions to adapt themselves to a diverse range of external milieux. These adaptations have been so successful that, in a global way, they are responsible for the cycling of many important elements (e.g., C, N, S, P, etc.). In this review we concentrate on their surface interaction with soluble metals and their innate ability to concentrate them and form minerals from metal salts within natural waters, sediments and soils. Since most of the readers of this article will not be bacteriologists, we first give a brief overview of the make-up of bacterial surfaces. We also discuss the formation and composition of microbial biofilms which are instrumental in immobilizing toxic metals.