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Specific jarosite biomineralization by P urpureocillium lilacinum , an acidophilic fungi isolated from R ío T into
Author(s) -
Oggerin M.,
Tornos F.,
Rodríguez N.,
del Moral C.,
SánchezRomán M.,
Amils R.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.954
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1462-2920
pISSN - 1462-2912
DOI - 10.1111/1462-2920.12094
Subject(s) - jarosite , biomineralization , precipitation , extreme environment , sulfate , biology , nuclear chemistry , pyrite , transmission electron microscopy , selected area diffraction , extremophile , ferric , mineralogy , chemistry , biochemistry , thermophile , materials science , inorganic chemistry , bacteria , metallurgy , nanotechnology , enzyme , paleontology , physics , genetics , meteorology
Summary R ío T into ( H uelva, southwestern S pain) is an extreme environment with a remarkably constant acidic pH and a high concentration of heavy metals, conditions generated by the metabolic activity of chemolithotrophic microorganisms thriving in the rich complex sulfides of the I berian P yrite B elt ( IPB ). Fungal strains isolated from the T into basin were characterized morphologically and phylogenetically. The strain identified as P urpureocillium lilacinum specifically induced the formation of a yellow‐ocher precipitate, identified as hydronium‐jarosite, an iron sulfate mineral which appears in abundance on the banks of Río Tinto. The biomineral was characterized by X ‐ray diffraction ( XRD ) and its formation was observed with high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy ( TEM ) and scanning electron microscopy ( SEM ) coupled to energy‐dispersive X ‐ray spectroscopy ( EDX ) microanalysis. Jarosite began to nucleate on the fungal cell wall, associated to the EPS , due to a local increase in the Fe 3+ / Fe 2+ ratio which generated supersaturation. Its formation has been also observed in non‐viable cells, although with much less efficiency. The occurrence of P . lilacinum in an ecosystem with high concentrations of ferric iron and sulfates such as R ío T into suggests that it could participate in the process of jarosite precipitation, helping to shape and control the geochemical properties of this environment.