Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-wxhwt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-09T07:48:47.506Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Fe-Cycle Bacteria from Industrial Clays Mined in Georgia, USA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Evgenya S. Shelobolina ,
Sam M. Pickering Jr  and
Derek R. Lovley
Evgenya S. Shelobolina*
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
Sam M. Pickering Jr
Affiliation:
Industrial Mineral Services, Inc., Macon, Georgia, USA
Derek R. Lovley
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
*
†Current address: Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1215 W Drayton St., r. A362, Madison WI 53706, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Dark Fe oxides and sulfides are major discoloring impurities in mined commercial white kaolin clay. In order to evaluate the potential influence of Fe-cycle bacteria on Fe cycling during post-depositional clay-weathering alteration, Fe(III)-reducing and/or Fe(II)-oxidizing microorganisms were examined in open-pit, subsurface mine samples from kaolin lenses and smectite formations collected from sites in central Georgia. Samples of varying age were examined, including late Eocene smectite overburden, hard kaolin of Middle Eocene age, soft gray kaolin from the late Paleocene, and soft tan kaolin of late Cretaceous age. These clays contained 0.06–5.33% organic carbon, which included various potential organic electron donors for bacterial metabolism: formate (1.1–30.6 mmol/kg), acetate (0–40.5 mmol/kg), lactate (0–12.1 mmol/kg), pyruvate (0.4–78 mmol/kg), oxalate (0–141.7 mmol/kg), and citrate (0–1.4 mmol/kg). All clay samples studied had small concentrations of ‘bio-available’ Fe(III) (0.5 M HCl-extractable Fe, 0.5–2.8 mmol/kg) compared to total Fe (HF-extractable, 25–171.9 mmol/kg). The highest Fe(III)/[Fe(II)+Fe(III)] ratio and the lowest organic carbon content were in kaolin samples in which Fe(III) reduction was determined to be the dominant terminal electron accepting process by hydrogen analysis. All clay samples showed greater numbers of Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria (22–22,000 cells/g) than Fe(III)-reducing bacteria (3–410 cells/g) as determined by MPN analysis. The Fe(III)-reducing activity in clays could be stimulated with the addition of 1 mM of the Fe(III) chelator, nitrilotriacetic acid. The addition of nitrate stimulated anaerobic Fe(II) oxidation. These results suggest that anaerobic bacteria involved in both oxidation and reduction of Fe exist in these subsurface clay formations, and might have had an influence on post-depositional weathering reactions.

Keywords

BacteriaClayFe CycleKaolinSmectiteSubsurface
Type
Research Article
Information
Clays and Clay Minerals , Volume 53 , Issue 6 , December 2005 , pp. 580 - 586
Copyright
Copyright © 2005, The Clay Minerals Society

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Avakyan, Z.A. Platov, Y.T. Khaliullova, R.A. Turova Shelobolina, E.S. Karavaiko, G.I. Maslennikova, G.N. and Vodyanitskii, Y.N., (1997) Method of bleaching of argillaceous ceramic materials .Google Scholar
Balch, W.E. Fox, G.E. Magrum, L.J. Woese, C.R. and Wolfe, R.S., (1979) Methanogens: reevaluation of a unique biological group Microbiological Reviews 43 260–296.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boivin-Jahns, V. Ruimy, R. Bianchi, A. Daumas, S. and Christen, R., (1996) Bacterial diversity in a deep-subsurface clay environment Applied and Environmental Microbiology 62 3405–3412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bond, D.R. and Lovley, D.R., (2002) Reduction of Fe(III) oxide by methanogens in the presence and absence of extracellular quinones Environmental Microbiology 4 115–124 10.1046/j.1462-2920.2002.00279.x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boukhalfa, H. and Crumbliss, A.L., (2002) Chemical aspects of siderophore mediated iron transport BioMetals 15 325–339 10.1023/A:1020218608266.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Briat, J.-F., (1992) Iron assimilation and storage in prokaryotes Journal of General Microbiology 138 2475–2483 10.1099/00221287-138-12-2475.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chapelle, F.H. and Lovley, D.R., (1990) Rates of microbial metabolism in deep coastal plain aquifers Applied and Environmental Microbiology 56 1865–1874.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chapelle, F.H. McMahon, P.B. Dubrovsky, N.M. Fujii, R.F. Oaksford, E.T. and Vroblesky, D.A., (1995) Deducing the distribution of terminal electron-accepting processes in hydrologically diverse groundwater systems Water Resources Research 31 359–371 10.1029/94WR02525.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elzea Kogel, J. Pickering, S.M. Shelobolina, E.S. Chowns, TM Y J and Avant, D.M., (2002) The Georgia Kaolins: Geology and Utilization .Google Scholar
Fredrickson, J.K. McKinley, J.P. Nierzwickibauer, S.A. White, D.C. Ringelberg, D.B. Rawson, S.A. Li, S.M. Brockman, F.J. and Bjornstad, B.N., (1995) Microbial community structure and biogeochemistry of Miocene subsurface sediments — implications for long-term microbial survival Molecular Ecology 4 619–626 10.1111/j.1365-294X.1995.tb00262.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hurst, V.J. and Pickering, S.M., (1997) Origin and classification of Coastal Plain kaolins, southeastern USA, and the role of groundwater and microbial action Clays and Clay Minerals 45 274–285 10.1346/CCMN.1997.0450215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Komadel, P. and Stucki, J.W., (1988) Quantitative assay of minerals for Fe2+ and Fe3+ using 1,10-phenanthroline: III. A rapid photochemical method Clays and Clay Minerals 36 379–381 10.1346/CCMN.1988.0360415.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kraemer, S., (2004) Iron oxide dissolution and solubility in the presence of siderophores Aquatic Sciences 66 3–18 10.1007/s00027-003-0690-5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krumholz, L.R., (2000) Microbial communities in the deep subsurface Hydrogeology Journal 8 4–10.Google Scholar
Lawrence, J.R. Hendry, M.J. Wassenaar, L.I. Germida, J.J. Wolfaardt, G.M. Fortin, N. and Greer, C.W., (2000) Distribution and biogeochemical importance of bacterial populations in a thick clay-rich aquitard system Microbial Ecology 40 273–291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, E.-Y. Cho, K.-S. Ryu, H.W. and Chang, Y.K., (1999) Microbial removal of Fe(III) impurities from clay using dissimilatory iron reducers Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering 87 397–399 10.1016/S1389-1723(99)80054-1.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lee, E.-Y. Cho, K.-S. and Ryu, H.W., (2002) Microbial refinement of kaolin by iron-reducing bacteria Applied Clay Science 22 47–53 10.1016/S0169-1317(02)00111-4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, Y.-L. Vali, H. Sears, S.K. Yang, J. Deng, B. and Zhang, C.L., (2004) Iron reduction and alteration of nontronite NAu-2 by a sulfate-reducing bacterium Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 68 3251–3260 10.1016/j.gca.2004.03.004.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lovley, D.R., (1991) Dissimilatory Fe(III) and Mn(IV) reduction Microbiological Reviews 55 259–287.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lovley, D.R. and Goodwin, S., (1988) Hydrogen concentrations as an indicator of the predominant terminal electron-accepting reactions in aquatic sediments Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 52 2993–3003 10.1016/0016-7037(88)90163-9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lovley, D.R. and Phillips, E.J.P., (1988) Novel mode of microbial energy metabolism: organic carbon oxidation coupled to dissimilatory reduction of iron or manganese Applied and Environmental Microbiology 54 1472–1480.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lovley, D.R. Roden, E.E. Phillips, E.J.P. and Woodward, J.C., (1993) Enzymatic iron and uranium reduction by sulfate-reducing bacteria Marine Geology 113 41–53 10.1016/0025-3227(93)90148-O.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lovley, D.R. Chapelle, F.H. and Woodward, J.C., (1994) Use of dissolved H2 concentrations to determine the distribution of microbially catalyzed redox reactions in anoxic ground water Environmental Science and Technology 28 1205–1210 10.1021/es00056a005.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maurice, P.A. Vierkorn, M.A. Hersman, L.E. and Fulghum, J.E., (2001) Dissolution of well and poorly ordered kaolinites by an aerobic bacterium Chemical Geology 180 81–97 10.1016/S0009-2541(01)00307-2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, T.L. and Wolin, M.J., (1974) A serum bottle modification of the Hungate technique for cultivating obligate anaerobes Appied Microbiology 27 985–987.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nelson, D.W. Sommers, L.E. et al. ,Page, A.L. (1982) et al. , Total carbon, organic carbon, and organic matter Methods of Soil Analysis Madison, Wisconsin American Society of Agronomy and Soil Science Society of America 539–580.Google Scholar
Rosenberg, D.R. and Maurice, P.A., (2003) Siderophore adsorption to and dissolution of kaolinite at pH 3 to 7 and 22°C Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 67 223–229 10.1016/S0016-7037(02)01082-7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shelobolina, E.S. Parfenova, E.Y. Avakyan, Z.A., Amils, R. and Ballester, A., (1999) Microorganisms of kaolins and their role in the processes of iron solubilization and transformation Biohydrometallurgy and the Environment Toward the Mining of the 21st Century Amsterdam Elsevier 559–568.Google Scholar
Stucki, J.W., (1981) The quantitative assay of minerals for Fe2+ and Fe3+ using 1,10-phenanthroline: II. A photochemical method Soil Science Society of America Journal 45 638–641 10.2136/sssaj1981.03615995004500030040x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turova Shelobolina, E.S. Avakyan, Z.A. and Karavaiko, G.I., (1996) The role of a bacterial community in transformation of iron minerals in kaolin Microbiology 65 837–843.Google Scholar