A microbial driver of clay mineral weathering and bioavailable Fe source under low-temperature conditions

Biotic and abiotic Fe(III) reduction of clay minerals (illite IMt-1) under low-temperature (0 and 4°C, pH 6) was studied to evaluate the effects of bioalteration on soil properties including clay structure and elemental composition. The extent of Fe reduction in bioreduced samples (∼3.8 % at 4°C and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in Microbiology
Main Authors: Jaewoo Jung, Hyun Young Chung, Youngtak Ko, Inkyeong Moon, Yeon Jee Suh, Kitae Kim
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2022
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.980078
https://doaj.org/article/916c638d0055445fa076438d02aeab7f
Description
Summary:Biotic and abiotic Fe(III) reduction of clay minerals (illite IMt-1) under low-temperature (0 and 4°C, pH 6) was studied to evaluate the effects of bioalteration on soil properties including clay structure and elemental composition. The extent of Fe reduction in bioreduced samples (∼3.8 % at 4°C and ∼3.1 % at 0°C) was lower than abiotic reduction (∼7.6 %) using dithionite as a strong reductant. However, variations in the illite crystallinity value of bioreduced samples (°Δ2θ = 0.580–0.625) were greater than those of abiotic reduced samples (°Δ2θ = 0.580–0.601), indicating that modification of crystal structure is unlikely to have occurred in abiotic reduction. Moreover, precipitation of secondary-phase minerals such as vivianite [Fe2+3(PO4)2⋅8H2O] and nano-sized biogenic silica were shown as evidence of reductive dissolution of Fe-bearing minerals that is observed only in a bioreduced setting. Our observation of a previously undescribed microbe–mineral interaction at low-temperature suggests a significant implication for the microbially mediated mineral alteration in Arctic permafrost, deep sea sediments, and glaciated systems resulting in the release of bioavailable Fe with an impact on low-temperature biogeochemical cycles.