Geomicrobiology

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Geomicrobiology is the interdisciplinary study of the interactions of microorganisms with earth materials. It concerns the role of microbes in geological and geochemical processes. The field of geomicrobiology has revealed new insights into the intersection of life with the physical and chemical composition of Earth’s surface. Soil microbes play a large role in the transformations of elements and minerals. The interactions between microbes and elements and minerals is especially important in the near surface environment known as Earth’s Critical Zone, where biotic and abiotic factors regulate the conditions for life-sustaining resources. Virtually all elements can be transformed by microbes and many elemental cycles depend on soil microbes (Gadd 2010). The relationships between microorganisms and these inorganic compounds have important implications for both the surrounding natural environment and human use. Soil microbes can be used by humans in mineral resource extraction and bioremediation.

Key processes of geomicrobiology

Geomicrobiological processes are relevant in many natural environments including aquifers, geological and geochemical processes, extreme environments (acidic, extreme temperatures and saline conditions) and metal ion reduction. Some of the most important processes include:

Weathering

Weathering plays an important role on Earth ecosystems and is important for the release of nutrients into the biosphere as a result of rock dissolution or the regulation of long-term climate by the consumption of atmospheric carbon dioxide from silicate alterations. Weathering has been considered a strictly physical and chemical process. Nonetheless, many weathering processes can be affected by the presence of microbial communities. All types of rocks are susceptible to microbial weathering, including siliceous and calcareous rocks. In general microbial weathering is due to the formation of organic acids or the production of metal-chelating siderophores on the surface of rock or minerals. Other processes include oxidative or reductive conditions of metals on rocks or minerals (Herrera et al., 2008). Additional information can be found in the following link: [1]

Precipitation of carbonates and phosphates

The influence of Bacteria in mineral precipitation has been described in different natural habitats including aquatic environments and geological systems. Carbonate precipitation is controlled by bacteria processes and one of the mechanisms proposed is the production of ammonium by metabolizing nitrogen base organic compounds which increases environment pH. Other authors report that the matrix of extracellular polymeric secretions (EPS) affects mineral precipitation Simultaneous precipitation of struvite (MgNH4PO4•6H2O) associated with bacterial activity has been described in vitro carbonate precipitation experiments as well as carbonate and phosphate precipitation by bacteria from saline soils (Delgado et al., 2008). Additional information can be found in the following link: [2]

Ocean crust support

Microbiological studies on sediment cores collected by the Deep Sea Drilling Program (DSDP) and the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) have demonstrated the presence of microbial communities in deeply buried marine sediments. Prokaryotes in the marine sub-seafloor biosphere have been estimated to comprise one-tenth to one-third of the world’s living biomass and therefore probably play an important role in global biogeochemical processes. Microbial populations in these regions vary considerably as a result of sediment type and age, organic matter availability, temperature and sedimentation rate. An example of the processes involved in this type of ecosystems was proposed for the Juan de Fuca Ridge in the northeast pacific and can be found below (Engelen et al., 2008). Additional information can be found in the following link: [3]

Nuclear waste disposal

Fungi can be very radiation-resistant and can survive and colonize concrete barriers under severe radioactive contamination. After ten years of the catastrophe of Chernobyl in 1986 extensive fungal growth was observed on the walls and other building structures constructed in the inner part of the “Shelter” built over the fourth Unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Safe long-term storage of both existing and future nuclear wastes is of vital importance in protecting the environment, therefore the study of these fungi has been key for future construction of nuclear waste repositories. The deterioration of concrete by fungi is performed by common mechanisms used by fungi for rock and mineral weathering. Some of the microorganisms isolated from these extreme environments include modified strains from the genera Alternaria, Cladosporium, and Aureobasidium (Fomina et al., 2007). Additional information can be found in the following link:[4]

Examples of Applied Geomicrobiology

Geomicrobiology has many useful applications for humans. Many microbes are involved with breaking down toxic compounds (see bioremediation in soil wiki), mineral extraction, and the manufacturing of valuable minerals and compounds.

Space exploration

Geomicrobiology is being considered an important tool in the exploration and settlement of space because microorganisms can be used for a variety of uses, such as life support and waste management, energy production, extraction of industrially useful minerals, and the search for life using microbe-mineral interactions. Below are a couple of examples of how humans can use processes that are studied on earth to help explore and colonize space.

Life Support and Waste Management

General concept of the MELISSA loop for advanced life supportImage Source

The biggest use of microbes in space exploration and settlement would be the use of photosynthetic organisms to convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and food in what is known as a biological life support system. Additionally the waste from these processes could be used to make more carbon dioxide, recycling the nutrients, water and carbon. The Micro Ecological Life Support System, designed by European Space Agency, is a model system of an advance biological life support system that would be based on different species of microbes and plants. Consisting of many bioreactors and plant chambers, MELiSSA would break down the organic waste from the crew and non-edible parts of the higher plants (Gòdia et al 2002). We can learn a lot about how MELiSSA works by looking at soil systems and processes here on Earth. The MELiSSA loop is the basis of the life support system created by the ESA and uses processes we see all the time on earth. For example, the transformations of nitrogen (mineralization, nitrification, immobilization and denitrification) show the different ways nitrogen is transformed in soil and in the atmosphere. From studying how microbes interact in soil has helped us create MELiSSA, which combines multiple systems to produce food, water and oxygen for space explorers.

Energy Production

One example of the use of microbes in in the production of energy and additional waste management is the use of a MFC, or microbial fuel cell. MFCs can be used to generate electricity and process waste, but they currently produce low amounts of energy and depend on microbes processing organic matter in an anaerobic anode chamber (Cockell 2010). On earth MFCs can be made using the soil found all around us because soil contains a diverse population of microbes, along with the nutrients needed by those microbes to generate energy.

References

Campbell, B.J., Engel, A.S., Porter, M.L., and Takai, K. (2006) The versatile Epsilonproteobacteria: Key players in sulphidic habitats. Nature Reviews Microbiology. 4: 458-468. [5]

Dang, H., Li, T., Chen, M., Hunng, G. 2007.ross-Ocean Distribution of Rhodobacterales Bacteria as Primary Surface Colonizers in Temperate Coastal Marine Waters. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 70:1 52-60.

Delgado, G. Delgado, R., Parraga, J., Rivadeneyra, M. A., Aranda, V. 2008. Precipitation of Carbonates and Phosphates by Bacteria in Extract Solutions from a Semi-arid Saline Soil. Influence of Ca2+ and Mg2+ Concentrat ions and Mg2+/Ca2+ Molar Ratio in Biomineralization. Geomicro. J. 25:1–13.

Engelen, B., Ziegelmuller, K., Wolf, L., Kopke, B., Gittel, A., Cypionka, H., Treude, T., Nakagawa, S., Inahaki, F., Lever, M. A., Steinsbu, B. O. 2008. Fluids from the Oceanic Crust Support Microbial Activities within the Deep Biosphere. Geomicro. J. 25:56-66.

Fomina, M., Podgorsky, V. S., Olishevska, V., Kadoshnikov, V. M., Pisanska, I. R., Hillier, S., Gadd, G. M. 2007. Fungal Deterioration of Barrier Concrete used in Nuclear Waste Disposal. Geomicro. J. 24:643-653.

Gonzalez-Toril, E., Gomez, F.,Rodriquez, N., Fernandez, D., Zuluaga, J., Marin, I., and Amils, R. "Geomicrobiology of the Tinto River, a model of interest for biohydrometallurgy". Hydrometalluragy. 71:301-309.

Herrera, A., Cockell, C. S., Self, S., Blaxter, M., Reitner, J., Arp, G., Drose, W., Thorsteinsson, T. , Tindle, A. G.2008. Bacterial Colonization and Weathering of Terrestrial Obsidian in Iceland. Geomicro. J. 25: 25-37.

Metcalf, W. W., Wolfe, R. S. 1998. Molecular Genetic Analysis of Phosphite and Hypophosphite Oxidation by Pseudomonas stutzeri WM88. J. Bacter. 21: 5547-5558

Murray, K. J., Tebo, B. M. 2007. Cr(III) Is Indirectly Oxidized by the Mn(II)-Oxidizing Bacterium Bacillus sp. Strain SG-1 Environ. Science Technology. 41: 528-533.

Rosling, A., Suttle, K B., Johansson, E., Van Hees, P. A. W., Banfield, J. F. 2007. Phosphorous availability influences the dissolution of apatite by soil fungi. Geobiology 5 (3): 265–280.

Senko, J. M., Suflita, J. M., Krumholz, L. R. 2005. Geochemical Controls on Microbial Nitrate-Dependent U(IV) Oxidation. Geomicro. J. 22:371-378

Sylvia, D. M., Hartel, P. G., Fuhrmann, J. J., Zuberer, D. A. Principles of Applications of Soil Microbiology. 2nd edition. 2005. Pearson Prentice Hall.

Edited by student of Kate Scow