Inside the alkalinity engine: the role of electron donors in the organomineralization potential of sulfate-reducing bacteria

• Published in: Geobiology Vol. 10; no. 6; pp. 518 - 530
• Main Authors: Gallagher, K. L., Kading, T. J., Braissant, O., Dupraz, C., Visscher, P. T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.11.2012
• Subjects: Bacteria - metabolism; Calcium Carbonate - metabolism; Chemical Precipitation; Environmental Microbiology; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Models, Biological; Models, Theoretical; Oxidation-Reduction; Sulfates - metabolism

Mineral precipitation in microbial mats may have been the key to their preservation as fossil stromatolites, potentially documenting evidence of the earliest life on Earth. Two factors that contribute to carbonate mineral precipitation are the saturation index (SI) and the presence of nucleation sit...