No abstract

Fe(II)-organic matter (Fe(II)-OM) complexes are abundant in the environment and may play a key role for the behavior of Fe and pollutants. Mixotrophic nitrate-reducing Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria (NRFeOx) reduce nitrate coupled to the oxidation of organic compounds and Fe(II). Fe(II) oxidation may occur enzymatically or abiotically by reaction with nitrite that forms during heterotrophic denitrification. However, it is unknown whether Fe(II)-OM complexes can be oxidized by NRFeOx. We used cell-suspension experiments with the mixotrophic nitrate-reducing Fe(II)-oxidizing bacterium Acidovorax sp. strain BoFeN1 to reveal the role of nonorganically bound Fe(II) (aqueous Fe(II)) and nitrite for the rates and extent of oxidation of Fe(II)-OM complexes (Fe(II)-citrate, Fe(II)-EDTA, Fe(II)-humic acid, and Fe(II)-fulvic acid). We found that Fe(II)-OM complexation inhibited microbial nitrate-reducing Fe(II) oxidation; large colloidal and negatively charged complexes showed lower oxidation rates than aqueous Fe(II). Accumulation of nitrite and fast abiotic oxidation of Fe(II)-OM complexes only happened in the presence of aqueous Fe(II) that probably interacted with (nitrite-reducing) enzymes in the periplasm causing nitrite accumulation in the periplasm and outside of the cells, whereas Fe(II)-OM complexes probably could not enter the periplasm and cause nitrite accumulation. These results suggest that Fe(II) oxidation by mixotrophic nitrate reducers in the environment depends on Fe(II) speciation, and that aqueous Fe(II) potentially plays a critical role in regulating microbial denitrification processes.

The predominant forms of arsenic (As) in anoxic and oxic environments are As(III) and As(V), respectively, and the fate of these forms is influenced by interactions with mineral surfaces and organic matter (OM). Interactions between As(V) and OM are believed to occur mainly via iron(Fe)-bridges in ternary Fe-arsenate complexes, but direct evidence for these interactions are scarce. Furthermore, since the speciation of Fe in the presence of organic matter varies as a function of pH and Fe concentration, a central question is how different chemical conditions will affect the As-Fe-OM interactions. In order to answer this, the As(V)-Fe(III)-OM system have been studied under a large range of experimental conditions (6485-67,243 ppm Fe(III) and Fe(III):As(V) ratios of 0.5-20 at pH 3-7), with Suwannee River natural organic matter and Suwannee River fulvic acid as sources of OM, using Fe and As K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), infrared (IR) spectroscopy and chemical equilibrium modeling. Our collective results showed that interactions in the ternary As(V)-Fe(III)-OM system were strongly influenced by pH, total concentrations and ratios among the reactive species. In particular, the high stability of the Fe(III)-OM complexes exerted a strong control on the speciation. The predominant species identified were mononuclear Fe(III)-OM complexes, Fe(III) (hydr)oxides and FeAsO 4 solids. The experimental results also showed that at low concentrations the Fe(III)-OM complexes were sufficiently stable to prevent reaction with arsenate. The chemical equilibrium models developed corroborated the spectroscopic results and indicated that As(V) was distributed over two solid phases, namely FeAsO 4 (s) and Fe(OH) 1.5 (AsO 4 ) 0.5 (s). Thus, neither ternary As(V)-Fe(III)-OM complexes nor As(V) surface complexes on Fe(III) (hydr)oxides were necessary to explain the collective results presented in this study.

In this study, we couple iron isotope analysis to microscopic and mineralogical investigation of iron speciation during circumneutral Fe(II) oxidation and Fe(III) precipitation with photosynthetically produced oxygen. In the presence of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus PCC 7002, aqueous Fe(II) (Fe(II)aq) is oxidized and precipitated as amorphous Fe(III) oxyhydroxide minerals (iron precipitates, Feppt), with distinct isotopic fractionation (ε56Fe) values determined from fitting the δ56Fe(II)aq (1.79‰ and 2.15‰) and the δ56Feppt (2.44‰ and 2.98‰) data trends from two replicate experiments. Additional Fe(II) and Fe(III) phases were detected using microscopy and chemical extractions and likely represent Fe(II) and Fe(III) sorbed to minerals and cells. The iron desorbed with sodium acetate (FeNaAc) yielded heavier δ56Fe compositions than Fe(II)aq. Modeling of the fractionation during Fe(III) sorption to cells and Fe(II) sorption to Feppt, combined with equilibration of sorbed iron and with Fe(II)aq using published fractionation factors, is consistent with our resulting δ56FeNaAc. The δ56Feppt data trend is inconsistent with complete equilibrium exchange with Fe(II)aq. Because of this and our detection of microbially excreted organics (e.g., exopolysaccharides) coating Feppt in our microscopic analysis, we suggest that electron and atom exchange is partially suppressed in this system by biologically produced organics. These results indicate that cyanobacteria influence the fate and composition of iron in sunlit environments via their role in Fe(II) oxidation through O2 production, the capacity of their cell surfaces to sorb iron, and the interaction of secreted organics with Fe(III) minerals.

The properties of iron (Fe) complexes and compounds in the environment influence several central processes, e.g., iron uptake, adsorption/desorption of contaminants and nutrients, and redox transformations, as well as the fate of of natural organic matter (NOM). It is thus important to characterize Fe species in environmental samples. Synchrotron-based extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy has been used in several studies on soils and sediments, but literature is scarce on investigations of natural waters because of low Fe concentrations. In this study we have described a gentle and noninvasive preconcentration method, based on electrostatic adsorption onto ion-exchange resins, suitable for EXAFS analysis of Fe species in dilute stream water samples. The EXAFS results of metal-organic model complexes showed that no significant local structural distortions were induced by the method. We also demonstrated the feasibility for an 8 μM Fe stream water sample. The Fe heterogeneity in this stream water was investigated via a gradient series at 28%, 42%, 77%, 84%, and 100% adsorption of total iron. The EXAFS results showed that Fe(III) in this stream water was divided into Fe(III)-NOM complexes and Fe(III) (oxyhydr)oxides associated with NOM, and that each class consisted of several subspecies.