『Abstract
This study used batch reactors to characterize the rates and
mechanisms of elemental release during the interaction of a single
bacterial species (Burkholderia fungorum) with Columbia
River Flood Basalt at T = 28℃ for 36 days. we primarily examined
the release of Ca, Mg, P, Si, and Sr under a variety of biotic
and abiotic conditions with the aim of evaluating how actively
metabolizing bacteria might influence basalt weathering on the
continents. Four days after inoculating P-limited reactors
(those lacking P in the growth medium), the concentration of viable
planktonic cells increased from 〜104 10 8
CFU (Colony Forming Units)/mL, pH decreased from 〜7 to 4, and
glucose decreased from 〜1200 to 0μmol/L. Mass-balance and acid-base
equilibria calculations suggest that the lowered pH resulted from
either respired CO2, organic acids released
during biomass synthesis, or H+ extrusion during NH4+ uptake. Between days 4 and 36, cell
numbers remained constant at 〜108 CFU/mL and pH increased
to 〜5. Purely abiotic control reactors as well as control reactors
containing inert cells (〜108 CFU/mL) showed constant
glucose concentrations, thus confirming the absence of biological
activity in these experiments. The pH of all control reactors
remained near-neutral, except for one experiment where the pH
was initially adjusted to 4 but rapidly rose to 7 within 2 days.
Over the entire 36 day period, P-limited reactors containing
viable bacteria yielded the highest Ca, Mg, Si, and Sr release
rates. Release rates inversely correlate with pH, indicating that
proton-promoted dissolution was the dominant reaction mechanism.
Both biotic and abiotic P-limited reactors displayed low
P concentrations. Chemical analyses of bacteria collected at the
end of the experiments, combined with mass-balances between the
biological and fluid phases, demonstrate that the absence of dissolved
P in the biotic reactors resulted from microbial P uptake. The
only P source in the basalt is a small amount of apatite (〜1.2%),
which occurs as needles within feldspar grains and glass. We therefore
conclude that B. fungorum utilized apatite as a P source
for biomass synthesis, which stimulated elemental release from
coexisting mineral phases via pH lowering. The results of this
study suggest that actively metabolizing bacteria have the potential
to influence elemental release from basalt in continental settings』
1. Introduction
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Characterization and preparation of basalt samples
2.2. Growth media
2.3. Model microorganism
2.4. Culture preparation
2.5. Batch experiments
2.6. Collection and preparation of cell biomass for chemical
analyses
2.7. Chemical analyses
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Basalt mineralogy and geochemistry
3.2. Glucose consumption, bacterial growth, and pH trends
3.3. Source of acidity
3.4. Dissolved elemental concentrations
3.5. Elemental release rates
3.6. Elemental uptake by bacteria
4. Conclusions and implications
Acknowledgments
References