Abstract
Many bacteria oxidize iron and deposit iron oxides or hydroxides as insoluble cell-associated precipitates. Some produce intracellular magnetite. The acid tolerant oxidizers use the energy of oxidation for growth. The neutral pH iron oxidizers are generally heterotrophs. The morphology of heterotrophic iron oxidizers often resembles forms seen in recent and ancient iron deposits. Whether or not bacteria form extensive natural iron precipitates is not known, but they are almost always associated with such precipitates. The physiology of iron oxidizing bacteria is not well understood and this precludes extrapolation to pre-Phanerozoic sedimentary iron deposits.
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© 1982 Dr. S. Bernhard, Dahlem Konferenzen, Berlin
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Nealson, K.H. (1982). Microbiological Oxidation and Reduction of Iron. In: Holland, H.D., Schidlowski, M. (eds) Mineral Deposits and the Evolution of the Biosphere. Dahlem Workshop Report, vol 3. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-68463-0_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-68463-0_4
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