Microbial mediation of complex subterranean mineral structures

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 5; no. 1; p. 15525
• Main Authors: Tisato, Nicola, Torriani, Stefano F. F., Monteux, Sylvain, Sauro, Francesco, De Waele, Jo, Tavagna, Maria Luisa, D’Angeli, Ilenia M., Chailloux, Daniel, Renda, Michel, Eglinton, Timothy I., Bontognali, Tomaso R. R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 29.10.2015; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 132/124; 38/23; 704/2151/330; 704/2151/3930; Biofilms; Biofilms - growth & development; Calcium Carbonate - chemistry; Calcium Carbonate - metabolism; Caves; Caves - microbiology; Chemical control; Chemotaxis; Gliding; Gravity; Humanities and Social Sciences; Mineralization; multidisciplinary; Nucleation; Physical properties; Science
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/srep15525

Helictites—an enigmatic type of mineral structure occurring in some caves—differ from classical speleothems as they develop with orientations that defy gravity. While theories for helictite formation have been forwarded, their genesis remains equivocal. Here, we show that a remarkable suite of helic...