Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.
Formation of Sphalerite (ZnS) Deposits in Natural Biofilms of Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria
Matthias Labrenz,1Gregory K. Druschel,1Tamara Thomsen-Ebert,2Benjamin Gilbert,3Susan A. Welch,1Kenneth M. Kemner,4Graham A. Logan,5Roger E. Summons,5Gelsomina De Stasio,3Philip L. Bond,1Barry Lai,4Shelly D. Kelly,4Jillian F. Banfield1*
Abundant, micrometer-scale, spherical aggregates of 2- to 5-nanometer-diameter sphalerite (ZnS) particles formed within
naturalbiofilms dominated by relatively aerotolerant sulfate-reducingbacteria of the family Desulfobacteriaceae. The biofilm zinc
concentrationis about 106 times that of associated
groundwater (0.09 to 1.1 parts per millionzinc). Sphalerite also
concentrates arsenic (0.01 weight %) andselenium (0.004 weight %).
The almost monomineralic product resultsfrom buffering of sulfide
concentrations at low values by sphaleriteprecipitation. These results
show how microbes control metal concentrationsin groundwater- and
wetland-based remediation systems and suggestbiological routes for
formation of some low-temperature ZnS deposits.
1 Department of Geology and Geophysics,
University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1215 West Dayton Street, Madison, WI
53706, USA.
2 Diversions Scuba, Madison, WI 53705, USA.
3 Department of Physics, University of
Wisconsin-Madison, 1150 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
4 Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, USA.
5 Australian Geological Survey Organisation,
GPO Box 378, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
jill{at}geology.wisc.edu
The editors suggest the following Related Resources on Science sites:
In Science Magazine
PERSPECTIVES
Crisogono Vasconcelos and Judith A. McKenzie (1 December 2000) Science290 (5497), 1711.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.290.5497.1711] |Summary »|Full Text »
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Combining Size Fractionation, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy to Probe Zinc Speciation in Pig Slurry.
S. Legros, E. Doelsch, A. Masion, J. Rose, D. Borschneck, O. Proux, J-L. Hazemann, H. Saint-Macary, and J-Y. Bottero (2010)
J. Environ. Qual.
39, 531-540
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
Geochemistry and Stable Isotopes of the Flooded Underground Mine Workings of Butte, Montana.
C. H. Gammons, C. H. Gammons, D. M. Snyder, S. R. Poulson, and K. Petritz (2009)
Economic Geology
104, 1213-1234
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
Cloning and Expression of the MutM Gene from Obligate Anaerobic Bacterium Desulfovibrio vulgaris (Miyazaki F).
H. Sanada, T. Nakanishi, H. Inoue, and M. Kitamura (2009)
J. Biochem.
145, 525-532
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
Palaeoproterozoic supercontinents and global evolution: correlations from core to atmosphere.
S. M. Reddy and D. A. D. Evans (2009)
Geological Society, London, Special Publications
323, 1-26
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
Mineral evolution.
R. M. Hazen, D. Papineau, W. Bleeker, R. T. Downs, J. M. Ferry, T. J. McCoy, D. A. Sverjensky, and H. Yang (2008)
American Mineralogist
93, 1693-1720
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
Biogenic formation of photoactive arsenic-sulfide nanotubes by Shewanella sp. strain HN-41.
J.-H. Lee, M.-G. Kim, B. Yoo, N. V. Myung, J. Maeng, T. Lee, A. C. Dohnalkova, J. K. Fredrickson, M. J. Sadowsky, and H.-G. Hur (2007)
PNAS
104, 20410-20415
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
Electrical and Magnetic Properties of Sulfides.
C. I. Pearce, R. A.D. Pattrick, and D. J. Vaughan (2006)
Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry
61, 127-180
|Full Text »|PDF »
Sulfides in Biosystems.
M. Posfai and R. E. Dunin-Borkowski (2006)
Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry
61, 679-714
|Full Text »|PDF »
The Role of Bacteria in the Supergene Environment of the Morenci Porphyry Copper Deposit, Greenlee County, Arizona.
M. S. Enders, C. Knickerbocker, S. R. Titley, and G. Southam (2006)
Economic Geology
101, 59-70
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
Molecular-Scale Processes Involving Nanoparticulate Minerals in Biogeochemical Systems.
B. Gilbert and J. F. Banfield (2005)
Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry
59, 109-155
|Full Text »|PDF »
The influence of sulfur and iron on dissolved arsenic concentrations in the shallow subsurface under changing redox conditions.
P. A. O'Day, D. Vlassopoulos, R. Root, and N. Rivera (2004)
PNAS
101, 13703-13708
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
Microbial Polysaccharides Template Assembly of Nanocrystal Fibers.
C. S. Chan, G. De Stasio, S. A. Welch, M. Girasole, B. H. Frazer, M. V. Nesterova, S. Fakra, and J. F. Banfield (2004)
Science
303, 1656-1658
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
Effects of pH on Metals Precipitation and Sorption: Field Bioremediation and Geochemical Modeling Approaches.
Heavy Metal Resistance of Biofilm and Planktonic Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
G. M. Teitzel and M. R. Parsek (2003)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol.
69, 2313-2320
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
Microbial Populations Stimulated for Hexavalent Uranium Reduction in Uranium Mine Sediment.
Y. Suzuki, S. D. Kelly, K. M. Kemner, and J. F. Banfield (2003)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol.
69, 1337-1346
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
Geochemical Modeling of ZnS in Biofilms: An Example of Ore Depositional Processes.
G. K. Druschel, G. K. Druschel, M. Labrenz, T. Thomsen-Ebert, D. A. Fowle, and J. F. Banfield (2002)
Economic Geology
97, 1319-1329
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
Geomicrobiology: How Molecular-Scale Interactions Underpin Biogeochemical Systems.
Gadolinium in Human Glioblastoma Cells for Gadolinium Neutron Capture Therapy.
G. De Stasio, P. Casalbore, R. Pallini, B. Gilbert, F. Sanita, M. T. Ciotti, G. Rosi, A. Festinesi, L. M. Larocca, A. Rinelli, et al. (2001)
Cancer Res.
61, 4272-4277
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
