Calcium Carbonate Precipitation by Bacterial Strains Isolated from a Limestone Cave and from a Loamy Soil

Cacchio, Paola; Ercole, Claudia; Cappuccio, Giorgio; Lepidi, A.

doi:10.1080/01490450303883

Cited by 127 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Under laboratory conditions, it was found that all of the bacterial isolates associated with the hollow stalactite (sample MII) and the drip-water sample were capable of forming crystalline calcium carbonate. This confirms the hypothesis that in appropriate conditions, especially in carbonate-rich environments such as limestone caves, many bacteria can form calcium carbonate crystals (Boquet et al, 1973;Cacchio et al, 2003Cacchio et al, , 2004Cacchio et al, , 2012. Not all of the bacterial strains isolated from the solid moonmilk stalactite (sample MI) were calcifying; the high relative abundance (40%) of strain M8, which was not capable of precipitating crystals, is consistent with the less intense calcification of this stalactite.…”

Section: In Vitro Bacterial Precipitation and Dissolution Of Calcium supporting

confidence: 68%

“…A similar bacterial density has been reported by Baskar et al (2011) for moonmilk deposits from Krem Mawmluh Cave, India. A similar bacterial density for the calcareous speleothems from the Stiffe and Cervo Caves and also for an unusual newly described calcite speleothem from Grave Grubbo Cave were reported in our previous studies (Cacchio et al, 2003(Cacchio et al, , 2004. The higher bacterial density in sample MII may be related to a greater presence of organic matter released from plant roots and to a greater water content.…”

Section: Microbial Cultures From Moonmilk and Dripping Watersupporting

confidence: 50%

“…The Grotta Nera is located in a mixed-deciduous forest, and it is known from previous literature that Gram-negative bacteria tend to be more abundant in rhizosphere soil compared to the bulk soil (Schlegel, 1993;Steer and Harris, 2000): Gram-negative bacteria biomass increases when rapidly decomposable carbon compounds, such as sugars and organic and amino acids, are available (Marilley and Aragno, 1999), whereas higher proportions of Gram-positive bacteria are usually found in resource limited areas (Atlas and Bartha, 1998;Kourtev et al, 2002). In fact, the ratio of Gram-negative to Gram-positive bacteria in moonmilk samples MI (95.74%) and MII (87.25%) was significantly higher than in previously studied consolidated calcareous speleothem and soil samples (Cacchio et al, 2003(Cacchio et al, , 2004) from which nearly all strains isolated were Gram-positive. A high proportion (68.05%) of Gram-negative bacteria was also found in the percolating water sample.…”

Section: Relative Abundance and Preliminary Characterization Of Bactementioning

confidence: 91%

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Biogenicity and Characterization of Moonmilk in the Grotta Nera (Majella National Park, Abruzzi, Central Italy)

Cacchio¹,

Ferrini²,

Ercole³

et al. 2014

JCKS

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Observations and hypotheses on the possible influence of unidentified calcifying bacteria on moonmilk speleothem formation in the Grotta Nera are reported for the first time. The Majella Massif hosts a complex karst system of several caves; the accessible Grotta Nera is the most interesting one. Despite its name, the cave is characterized by particularly abundant ivory-white deposits of moonmilk. Two samples of moonmilk were analyzed to determine the geochemistry, fabric, depositional setting, and extent of biogenicity. For this, we combined geochemical, scanning electron microscopic, microbiological, and in vitro precipitation studies. X-ray diffraction of the moonmilk deposits gave clear evidence for the presence of calcite. Scanning electron microscopy showed that moonmilk in the Grotta Nera consists of a network of calcite fibers oriented in all directions, resembling a felted mat. The cultivation on specific medium of moonmilk and drip-water samples showed the presence of fungi, actinomycetes, and other bacteria, but the dominant cultivable microorganisms were bacteria, which produced significant crystallization. Examination of Gram-stained smears taken from the fifteen different colony types showed that the majority (66.7%) of the bacterial isolates were Gram-negative. Single small rods and rod chains were the most common bacteria isolated from the Grotta Nera. None of the molds isolated from the Grotta Nera samples were able to precipitate CaCO 3 crystals, suggesting a major bacterial contribution to moonmilk deposition in the cave. Bacteria were capable of precipitating CaCO 3 on B-4 solid medium at 15 (cave temperature), 22, and 32 uC. The calcifying bacteria isolated from the Grotta Nera showed a greater capability to solubilize CaCO 3 than those associated with consolidated stalactites sampled from previously studied caves. The electron microscopy and microbiological evidences, together with the geochemistry and environmental data, allowed us to postulate the biogenic nature of the moonmilk in the Grotta Nera Cave.

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Section: In Vitro Bacterial Precipitation and Dissolution Of Calcium supporting

confidence: 68%

Section: Microbial Cultures From Moonmilk and Dripping Watersupporting

confidence: 50%

Section: Relative Abundance and Preliminary Characterization Of Bactementioning

confidence: 91%

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Biogenicity and Characterization of Moonmilk in the Grotta Nera (Majella National Park, Abruzzi, Central Italy)

Cacchio¹,

Ferrini²,

Ercole³

et al. 2014

JCKS

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“…The existence of poorly-developed rhomboedral faces in some spheroid surfaces suggest that some vaterite spherules are partially or totally transformed into calcite aggregates or rhombohedric crystals. The formation mechanisms are not completely known (Friedman, 1997) but several authors indicate that bacterial activity seems to be necessary for the formation of vaterite aggregates (Giralt et al, 2001;Braissant et al, 2003;Sanchez-Moral et al, 2003;Rodriguez-Navarro et al, 2007) although bacterial vaterite precipitation is not strain-specific (Groth et al, 2001;Cacchio et al, 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial communities and associated mineral fabrics in Altamira Cave, Spain

Cuezva¹,

Sánchez‐Moral²,

Sáiz‐Jiménez³

et al. 2009

IJS

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“…Their crystal lattices can maintain stability in manmade environments formed by organic molecules, such as amino acids, nucleic acids, and polysaccharides (Fujita et al, 2000;Manoli and Dalas, 2000;Tong et al, 2004). In the past 20 years, many microorganisms have been found to have the ability to precipitate CaCO 3 (de Vrind-de Jong and de Vrind, 1997;Hammes and Verstraete, 2002;Cacchio et al, 2003;Hammes et al, 2003;Dittrich et al, 2004;Han et al, 2013). Microbes encourage these processes by increasing the surface area for nucleation (Dittrich et al, 2003), creating alkaline environments near the cell surface (Lee et al, 2006), and increasing the concentrations of dissolved inorganic carbon through their physiological activity (Rippka et al, 1979;Yeager et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of calcium deposition induced by Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 in BG11 culture medium

Yan

Han

Zhao

et al. 2013

Chin. J. Ocean. Limnol.

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Calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) crystals in their preferred orientation were obtained in BG11 culture media inoculated with Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 (inoculated BG11). In this study, the features of calcium carbonate deposition were investigated. Inoculated BG11 in different calcium ion concentrations was used for the experimental group, while the BG11 culture medium was used for the control group. The surface morphologies of the calcium carbonate deposits in the experimental and control groups were determined by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The deposits were analyzed by electronic probe micro-analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectrum, X-ray diffraction, thermal gravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. The results show that the surfaces of the crystals in the experimental group were hexahedral in a scaly pattern. The particle sizes were micrometer-sized and larger than those in the control group. The deposits of the control group contained calcium (Ca), carbon (C), oxygen (O), phosphorus (P), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and other elements. The deposits in the experimental group contained Ca, C, and O only. The deposits of both groups contained calcite. The thermal decomposition temperature of the deposits in the control group was lower than those in the experimental group. It showed that the CaCO 3 deposits of the experimental group had higher thermal stability than those of the control group. This may be due to the secondary metabolites produced by the algae cells, which affect the carbonate crystal structure and result in a close-packed structure. The algae cells that remained after thermal weight loss were heavier in higher calcium concentrations in BG11 culture media. There may be more calciumcontaining crystals inside and outside of these cells. These results shall be benefi cial for understanding the formation mechanism of carbonate minerals.

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Calcium Carbonate Precipitation by Bacterial Strains Isolated from a Limestone Cave and from a Loamy Soil

Cited by 127 publications

References 20 publications

Biogenicity and Characterization of Moonmilk in the Grotta Nera (Majella National Park, Abruzzi, Central Italy)

Biogenicity and Characterization of Moonmilk in the Grotta Nera (Majella National Park, Abruzzi, Central Italy)

Microbial communities and associated mineral fabrics in Altamira Cave, Spain

Characterization of calcium deposition induced by Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 in BG11 culture medium

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