2025/09/10 · 1 voice
Engineering · Environmental Science · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Metal Extraction and Bioleaching #Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology #Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
paper · doi:10.1038/d41586-025-02861-8
A bacterium that uses sulfide as an energy source to metabolize solid iron oxides has been discovered, revealing a biological reaction that was previously assumed to be solely chemical. This finding uncovers a firm microbial link between sulfur and iron cycling in oxygen-free environments such as aquatic sediments. A species of bacteria grows when both ferrihydrite and sulfide are present, but not when either is absent.