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Iron Reduction

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Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

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Acronyms

DIR:

Dissimilatory iron reduction

DIRM:

Dissimilatory iron reducing microorganisms

Definition

Dissimilatory iron reduction (DIR) is a form of anaerobic (without oxygen) microbial respiration whereby energy is generated by coupling the oxidation (removal of electrons) of organic matter (chemoorganotrophy) or H2 (chemolithotrophy) to the reduction (addition of electrons) of ferric iron [Fe(III)]. DIR can by generalized by the following equations, where “CH2O” represents a single unit of organic carbon, and Fe(OH)3 represents an iron oxide mineral phase:

Chemoorganotrophic Fe(III) reduction:

$$ {\mathrm{CH}}_2\mathrm{O}+4\mathrm{Fe}{\left(\mathrm{OH}\right)}_3+7{\mathrm{H}}^{+}\to 4{\mathrm{Fe}}^{2+}+{\mathrm{H}\mathrm{CO}}_3^{-}+10{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O} $$
(1)

Chemolithotrophic Fe(III) reduction:

$$ {\mathrm{H}}_2+2\mathrm{Fe}{\left(\mathrm{OH}\right)}_3+4{\mathrm{H}}^{+}\to 2{\mathrm{Fe}}^{2+}+6{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O} $$
(2)

Overview

Microbial Fe(III) reduction plays an...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, USA

    Nathaniel W. Fortney, Stephanie A. Napieralski & Eric E. Roden

Authors
  1. Nathaniel W. Fortney
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  2. Stephanie A. Napieralski
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  3. Eric E. Roden
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eric E. Roden .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  2. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA

    William M. Irvine

  3. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  6. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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Fortney, N.W., Napieralski, S.A., Roden, E.E. (2020). Iron Reduction. In: Gargaud, M., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_5402-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_5402-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

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