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The Genus Gallionella

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The Prokaryotes

Abstract

The bacteria of the genus Gallionella belong to the so-called “iron bacteria”, which achieved their theoretical importance after Winogradsky (1888, 1922) postulated his conception of chemolithotrophy for these organisms. These bacteria also have practical significance: They clog drains, water pipes, and wells with deposits of iron oxide compounds. In connection with freshwater supply problems and the rapid growth of agriculture, hydrotechnicians and land-reclamation (underground drainage) specialists have become increasingly interested in bacterial iron oxidation as a common source of interference with wells and drainage systems (Ford, 1978; Hanert, 1974b; Khrutskaya, 1970; Martin et al., 1978). Iron bacteria are also interesting for ecological and biogeochemical reasons. Like algae, iron bacteria may develop in their natural habitats in such masses that the idea of their participation in the sedimentary formation of iron ore is plausible, as was recognized in the first description of the iron bacterium Gallionella ferruginea (Ehrenberg, 1836).

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Authors
  1. Hans H. Hanert
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bacteriology, University of California, 95616, Davis, California, USA

    Mortimer P. Starr

  2. Lehrstuhl für Mikrobiologie, Universität Bayreuth, 8580, Bayreuth, Federal Republic of Germany

    Heinz Stolp

  3. Institut für Mikrobiologie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, 5300, Bonn 1, Federal Republic of Germany

    Hans G. Trüper

  4. Bacteriology Division, Centers for Disease Control, 30333, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Albert Balows

  5. Institut für Mikrobiologie, Universität Göttingen, 3400, Göttingen, Federal Republic of Germany

    Hans G. Schlegel

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© 1981 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Hanert, H.H. (1981). The Genus Gallionella . In: Starr, M.P., Stolp, H., Trüper, H.G., Balows, A., Schlegel, H.G. (eds) The Prokaryotes. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-13187-9_40

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-13187-9_40

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-13189-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-13187-9

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