Abstract
This study examined iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, and zinc content of a model sulfate-reducing bacterium and methanogenic archaeon in mono- vs. coculture. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and synchrotron x-ray fluorescence microscopy were used to compare elemental content of bulk vs. single cells. Cocultures contained more cellular cobalt than monocultures as well as distinct nanoparticulate zinc- and cobalt/copper-sulfides. This study provides the first evidence that microbes have different metal quotas in mono- vs. coculture, and that cocultures grown in micromolar metal concentrations precipitate different metal sulfide minerals than previous studies of sulfate-reducing bacteria grown at millimolar metal concentrations.
Copyright
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.