Iron-Oxidizing Bacteria: An Environmental and Genomic Perspective

In the 1830s, iron bacteria were among the first groups of microbes to be recognized for carrying out a fundamental geological process, namely the oxidation of iron. Due to lingering questions about their metabolism, coupled with difficulties in culturing important community members, studies of Fe-o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual review of microbiology 2010-01, Vol.64 (1), p.561-583
Main Authors: EMERSON, David, FLEMING, Emily J, MCBETH, Joyce M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acidity
Bacteria
Bacteria - genetics
Bacteria - metabolism
Bacteriology
Biogeochemistry
Biological and medical sciences
Deep sea
Environmental Microbiology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Genome, Bacterial
Genomics
Iron
Iron - metabolism
Metabolic Networks and Pathways - genetics
Metabolism
Microbiology
Microorganisms
Miscellaneous
Oxidation
Oxidation-Reduction
Phylogeny
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Summary:In the 1830s, iron bacteria were among the first groups of microbes to be recognized for carrying out a fundamental geological process, namely the oxidation of iron. Due to lingering questions about their metabolism, coupled with difficulties in culturing important community members, studies of Fe-oxidizing bacteria (FeOB) have lagged behind those of other important microbial lithotrophic metabolisms. Recently, research on lithotrophic, oxygen-dependent FeOB that grow at circumneutral pH has accelerated. This work is driven by several factors including the recognition by both microbiologists and geoscientists of the role FeOB play in the biogeochemistry of iron and other elements. The isolation of new strains of obligate FeOB allowed a better understanding of their physiology and phylogeny and the realization that FeOB are abundant at certain deep-sea hydrothermal vents. These ancient microorganisms offer new opportunities to learn about fundamental biological processes that can be of practical importance.
ISSN:0066-4227
1545-3251
DOI:10.1146/annurev.micro.112408.134208