geomicrobiology

[...]... the field Geomicrobiology is not a new scientific discipline, although until the 1980s it did not receive much specialized attention A unified concept of geomicrobiology and the biosphere can be said to have been pioneered in Russia under the leadership of V I Vernadsky (1863–1945) (see Ivanov, 1967; Lapo, 1987; Bailes, 1990; Vernadsky, 1998, for insights and discussions of early Russian geomicrobiology. .. the discovery of bacterial sulfate reduction by Beijerinck (1895) and van Delden (1903) 1 CRC_7906_Ch001.indd 1 11/5/2008 5:11:45 PM 2 Geomicrobiology Geomicrobiology Biogeochemistry Microbial ecology Microbial biogeochemistry FIGURE 1.1 Interrelationships between geomicrobiology, microbial ecology, microbial biogeochemistry, and biogeochemistry Starting with the Russian investigator Nadson (1903,... anticipate that as mechanistic molecular approaches are increasingly applied to diverse problems in geomicrobiology, exciting discoveries will be made about how life sustains itself even in seemingly inhospitable environments such as the deep subsurface Just as in the case of the previous editions of Geomicrobiology, the chief aim of the fifth edition is to serve as an introduction to the subject and... transfer and energy flow These subjects overlap to some degree, as shown in Figure 1.1 It is unclear as to when the term geomicrobiology was first introduced into the scientific vocabulary This term is obviously derived from the term geological microbiology Beerstecher (1954) defined geomicrobiology as “the study of the relationship between the history of the Earth and microbial life upon it.” Kuznetsov... 11/11/2008 5:12:01 PM Preface Several important advances have occurred in the field of geomicrobiology since the last edition of this book, including a number of observations made possible by the introduction of genetic and molecular biological techniques that make revision and updating of the previous edition of Geomicrobiology timely Henry Lutz Ehrlich, author of the earlier four editions, has been... author of the earlier four editions, has been joined by Dianne K Newman for this fifth edition to lend her expertise in the area of molecular geomicrobiology This has resulted in a new chapter (Chapter 8) in this edition, which is entitled “Molecular Methods in Geomicrobiology. ” The techniques described in this chapter illuminate the processes by which bacteria catalyze important geomicrobial reactions... 532 21.7 Biooxidation of Reduced Forms of Tellurium 532 21.8 Bioreduction of Oxidized Forms of Tellurium 533 21.9 Summary 533 References 534 Chapter 22 Geomicrobiology of Fossil Fuels 537 22.1 Introduction 537 22.2 Natural Abundance of Fossil Fuels 537 CRC_7906_FM.indd xvii 11/11/2008 5:12:01 PM xviii Contents 22.3 Methane... Extracellular Polysaccharide .202 10.4.5 Depolymerization of Polysilicates 202 10.5 Role of Microbes in the Silica Cycle .202 10.6 Summary 203 References 204 Chapter 11 Geomicrobiology of Aluminum: Microbes and Bauxite 209 11.1 11.2 CRC_7906_FM.indd x Introduction 209 Microbial Role in Bauxite Formation 210 11.2.1 Nature of Bauxite 210... 256 t 14.3.2 Microbial Oxidation of Antimony Compounds 256 14.3.3 Microbial Reduction of Oxidized Antimony Minerals 257 14.4 Summary 257 References 258 Chapter 15 Geomicrobiology of Mercury 265 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 Introduction 265 Distribution of Mercury in Earth’s Crust 265 t Anthropogenic Mercury 266 Mercury in Environment... 271 15.7 Environmental Significance of Microbial Mercury Transformations 272 15.8 Mercury Cycle 272 15.9 Summary 273 References 274 Chapter 16 Geomicrobiology of Iron 279 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 CRC_7906_FM.indd xii Iron Distribution in Earth’s Crust 279 t Geochemically Important Properties 279 Biological Importance of Iron . b i bl iograp h ica l re f erences an d in d ex. ISBN 978-0-8493-7906-2 ( alk. p a p er ) 1. Geomicrobiology. I. Newman, Dianne K. II. Title. Q R103.E437 200 9 5 51. 9 dc2 2 2 00802 9 57 0 Visit. Interaction w ith Plutonium 43 2 18.7 Summar y 4 3 2 R e f erences . 4 3 3 1 Chapter 9 Geomicrobiology of Sulfur r 4 3 9 19.1 Occurrence of Sulfur in Earth’s Crust t 4 3 9 19.2 Geochemically