Self-preservation strategies during bacterial biomineralisation with reference to hydrozincite and implications for fossilisation of bacteria

Bryne T. Ngwenya, Marisa Magennis, Francesca Podda, Andrey Gromov

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The induction of mineralisation by microbes has been widely demonstrated but whether induced biomineralisation leads to distinct morphologies indicative of microbial involvement remains an open question. For calcium carbonate, evidence suggests that microbial induction enhances sphere formation, but the mechanisms involved and the role of microbial surfaces are unknown. Here, we describe hydrozincite biominerals from Sardinia, Italy which apparently start life as smooth globules on cyanobacterial filaments, and evolve to spheroidal aggregates consisting of nanoplates. Complimentary laboratory experiments suggest that organic compounds are critical to produce this morphology, possibly by inducing aggregation of nanoscopic crystals or nucleation within organic globules produced by metabolising cells. These observations suggest that production of EPS by microbes may constitute an effective mechanism to enhance formation of porous spheroids that minimise cell entombment while also maintaining metabolite exchange. However, the high porosity arising from aggregation-based crystal growth likely facilitates rapid oxidation of entombed cells, reducing their potential to be fossilised.
Original languageEnglish
Article number20140845
JournalJournal of the Royal Society. Interface
Volume11
Issue number100
Early online date24 Sept 2014
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 24 Oct 2014

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