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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2004, p. 1627-1632, Vol. 70, No. 3
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.3.1627-1632.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Direct Observation of Microbial Inhibition of Calcite Dissolution

Andreas Lüttge1* and Pamela G. Conrad2

Department of Earth Science, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005,1 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 911092

Received 12 May 2003/ Accepted 17 November 2003

Vertical scanning interferometry (VSI) provides a method for quantification of surface topography at the angstrom to nanometer level. Time-dependent VSI measurements can be used to study the surface-normal retreat across crystal and other solid surfaces during dissolution or corrosion processes. Therefore, VSI can be used to directly and nondestructively measure mineral dissolution rates with high precision. We have used this method to compare the abiotic dissolution behavior of a representative calcite (CaCO3) cleavage face with that observed upon addition of an environmental microbe, Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, to the crystal surface. From our direct observations, we have concluded that the presence of the microbes results in a significant inhibition of the rate of calcite dissolution. This inhibition appears to be a 2nd-order effect that is related to the formation of etch pits. The opening of etch pits was greatly inhibited in the presence of added bacteria, suggesting that the bacterial cells exert their effect by inhibiting the formation of etch pits at high-energy sites at the crystal surface caused by lattice defects, e.g., screw or point dislocations. The experimental methodology thus provides a nondestructive, directly quantifiable, and easily visualized view of the interactions of microbes and minerals during weathering (or corrosion) processes or during mineral precipitation.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Earth Science MS-126, Rice University, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251-1892. Phone: (713) 348-6304. Fax: (713) 348-5214. E-mail: aluttge{at}rice.edu.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2004, p. 1627-1632, Vol. 70, No. 3
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.3.1627-1632.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Luttge, A., Zhang, L., Nealson, K. H. (2005). Mineral surfaces and their implications for microbial attachment: Results from Monte Carlo simulations and direct surface observations. ajs 305: 766-790 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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