Abstract
Microbial biofilms and mats are documented as fossils in rocks throughout the 3.5 b.y.-old morphological fossil record of life on Earth (Westall et al., 2000). The polymer-rich biofilms are, per se, highly robust structures capable of great resistance and durability. Moreover, the abundance of active groups in the polymers which can chelate mineral ions in solution, assures their ready preservation in the rock record. These active groups include the carboxylate, hydroxyl, amine and phosphate groups (Geesey and Jang, 1989). Precipitation of minerals within a microbial biofilm can be influenced by microbial metabolic control of the microenvironment. Furthermore, the presence of an organic template with active nucleation sites also contributes towards bio-catalysed precipitation of minerals. Some of the best-known examples of mineralised biofilms in the geological record are calcified and silicified stromatolites (Krumbein, 1983). Mineralisation of organic templates can occur very rapidly (within a day, Toporski et al., 2001a). Experiments to silicify microorganisms also document the potential faithfulness of reproduction of the original organism, and the fineness of detail obtainable, by silica impregnation (Westall et al., 1995; Westall, 1999; Toporski et al., 2001a).
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Westall, F., Walsh, M.M., Toporski, J., Steele, A. (2003). Fossil Biofilms and the Search for Life on Mars. In: Krumbein, W.E., Paterson, D.M., Zavarzin, G.A. (eds) Fossil and Recent Biofilms. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0193-8_32
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