Aquatic microbe oxidizes iron minerals from the surface inward
Thursday, June 27, 2013 - 08:00
in Physics & Chemistry
(Phys.org) —When the water-dwelling microbe Sideroxydans lithotrophicus ES-1 connects with iron mineral particulates, three microbial proteins quickly extract electrons from divalent iron or Fe(II), leaving behind trivalent iron, according Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientists. The oxidation reaction begins when the protein contacts the particle's surface and continues into the particle interior, without damaging the iron lattice. The electron transfer is faster if the particle starts with a high ratio of Fe(II) to Fe(III).