What Do We Really Know about the Role of Microorganisms in Iron Sulfide Mineral Formation?

Aude Picard,Peter R Girguis,Amy Gartman

doi:10.3389/feart.2016.00068

Aude Picard, Peter R Girguis + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2016.00068

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Abstract

Iron sulfide mineralization in low-temperature systems is a result of biotic and abiotic processes, though the delineation between these two modes of formation is not always straightforward. Here we review the role of microorganisms in the precipitation of extracellular iron sulfide minerals. We summarize the evidence that links sulfur-metabolizing microorganisms and sulfide minerals in nature and we present a critical overview of laboratory-based studies of the nucleation and growth of iron sulfide minerals in microbial cultures. We discuss whether biologically derived minerals are distinguishable from abiotic minerals, possessing attributes that are uniquely diagnostic of biomineralization. These inquiries have revealed the need for additional thorough, mechanistic and high-resolution studies to understand microbially mediated formation of a variety of sulfide minerals across a range of natural environments.

Highlights

Reviewed by: Jakob Zopfi, University of Basel, Switzerland William Patrick Gilhooly III, Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, USA
Ninety-seven percent of the sulfide produced on Earth is attributable to the activity of sulfate-reducing prokaryotes (SRP) in low-temperature environments (Trudinger et al, 1985; Rickard, 2012b), while the remaining three percent are produced at volcanoes and deep-sea hydrothermal vents (Elderfield and Schultz, 1996; Andres and Kasgnoc, 1998)
In hydrothermal vents, which result in the formation of submarine ores, both metabolically active SRP and dissimilatory sulfite reductase genes have been found in the outer walls of chimneys and in seafloor massive sulfide deposits, where seawater sulfate is entrained (Nakagawa et al, 2004; Kormas et al, 2006; Frank et al, 2013; Kato et al, 2015)

Summary

Introduction

Reviewed by: Jakob Zopfi, University of Basel, Switzerland William Patrick Gilhooly III, Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, USA. We review the role of microorganisms in the precipitation of extracellular iron sulfide minerals. There are few environmental studies closely linking microbial sulfate-reducing activity and specific sulfide minerals, even though it has been 100 years since the first suggestion that SRP might be responsible for metal sulfide ore formation (Siebenthal, 1915).

Results

Conclusion