Barium bioaccumulation by bacterial biofilms and implications for Ba cycling and use of Ba proxies

Francisca Martinez-Ruiz (), Fadwa Jroundi, Adina Paytan, Isabel Guerra-Tschuschke, María del Mar Abad and María Teresa González-Muñoz
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Francisca Martinez-Ruiz: Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra (CSIC-UGR)
Fadwa Jroundi: University of Granada
Adina Paytan: University of California Santa Cruz
Isabel Guerra-Tschuschke: University of Granada
María del Mar Abad: University of Granada
María Teresa González-Muñoz: University of Granada

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Ba proxies have been broadly used to reconstruct past oceanic export production. However, the precise mechanisms underlying barite precipitation in undersaturated seawater are not known. The link between bacterial production and particulate Ba in the ocean suggests that bacteria may play a role. Here we show that under experimental conditions marine bacterial biofilms, particularly extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), are capable of bioaccumulating Ba, providing adequate conditions for barite precipitation. An amorphous P-rich phase is formed at the initial stages of Ba bioaccumulation, which evolves into barite crystals. This supports that in high productivity regions where large amounts of organic matter are subjected to bacterial degradation, the abundant EPS would serve to bind the necessary Ba and form nucleation sites leading to barite precipitation. This also provides new insights into barite precipitation and opens an exciting field to explore the role of EPS in mineral precipitation in the ocean.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04069-z

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