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Appl Environ Microbiol. 1971 October; 22(4): 487-490
Copyright © 1971 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Solubilization of Iron-Containing Minerals by Soil Microorganisms

Laboratorio de Microbiología Aplicada, Facultad de Química y Farmacia, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile

ABSTRACT

Eighty-eight strains of microorganisms were isolated from soils collected in northern and southern Chile, and 10 fungi which showed the highest solubilizing action upon the iron in granodiorite were then selected. These fungi were incubated with the following iron-containing minerals: augite, hornblende, biotite, magnetite, hematite, and the igneous rock granodiorite. The solubility of iron in these minerals depended on their nature, crystalline structure, the concentration of metabolic products, or all three. Complex formation could be the mechanism involved, as a strong cation-exchange resin was not able to extract Fe from culture solutions. This conclusion is also confirmed by the R_F values obtained by thin-layer chromatography of iron-containing culture solutions.