Calcite formation induced by Ensifer adhaerens, Microbacterium testaceum, Paeniglutamicibacter kerguelensis, Pseudomonas protegens and Rheinheimera texasensis

• Published in: Antonie van Leeuwenhoek Vol. 112; no. 5; pp. 711 - 721
• Main Authors: Hatayama, Kouta, Saito, Katsumi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.05.2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acetic acid; Amino acids; Ammonification; Bacteria; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Calcite; Calcium carbonate; Cell culture; Cellulose acetate; Cellulose acetate membranes; Crystals; Cultivation; Culture media; Deamination; Life Sciences; Medical Microbiology; Membrane filters; Microbiology; Nucleation; Original Paper; pH effects; Plant Sciences; Pore size; Porosity; Pseudomonas; Pseudomonas protegens; Sand; Soil Science & Conservation; Strains (organisms); Biomineralization; Calcium carbonate precipitation; Calcite; Biocementation
• ISSN: 0003-6072; 1572-9699
• DOI: 10.1007/s10482-018-1204-8

A wide range of bacterial species are able to induce calcium carbonate precipitation. Using our own laboratory-preserved strains, we have newly discovered that Ensifer sp. MY11e, Microbacterium sp. TMd9a1, Paeniglutamicibacter sp. MSa1a, Pseudomonas sp. GTc3, and Rheinheimera sp. ATWe6 can induce the formation of calcite crystals on an agar medium. Type strains of their closely related species ( Ensifer adhaerens , Microbacterium testaceum , Paeniglutamicibacter kerguelensis , Pseudomonas protegens , and Rheinheimera texasensis ) could also induce calcite formation. Although the initial pH value of the agar medium was 6.1, the pH of the agar media containing calcite, induced by cultivation of the 10 bacterial strains, increased to 8.0–8.4. The ammonification (oxidative deamination) of amino acids may been responsible for this increase in pH. The crystals formed both on and around the bacterial colonies. Furthermore, when these strains (excepting two Microbacterium strains) were cultivated on a cellulose acetate membrane filter (0.20 μm pore size) resting on the surface of the agar medium (i.e., in the membrane filter culture method), the crystals formed on the agar medium separate from the bacterial cells. These results indicate that the bacterial cells did not necessarily become nucleation sites for these crystals. We also investigated whether the studied strains could be applied to the biocementation of sand, and found that only two Ensifer strains were able to form large sand lumps.