TY - JOUR
T1 - The genetics of geochemistry
AU - Croal, Laura R.
AU - Gralnick, Jeffrey A.
AU - Malasarn, Davin
AU - Newman, Dianne K.
PY - 2004
Y1 - 2004
N2 - Bacteria are remarkable in their metabolic diversity due to their ability to harvest energy from myriad oxidation and reduction reactions. In some cases, their metabolisms involve redox transformations of metal(loid)s, which lead to the precipitation, transformation, or dissolution of minerals. Microorganism/mineral interactions not only affect the geochemistry of modern environments, but may also have contributed to shaping the near-surface environment of the early Earth. For example, bacterial anaerobic respiration of ferric iron or the toxic metalloid arsenic is well known to affect water quality in many parts of the world today, whereas the utilization of ferrous iron as an electron donor in anoxygenic photosynthesis may help explain the origin of Banded Iron Formations, a class of ancient sedimentary deposits. Bacterial genetics holds the key to understanding how these metabolisms work. Once the genes and gene products that catalyze geochemically relevant reactions are understood, as well as the conditions that trigger their expression, we may begin to predict when and to what extent these metabolisms influence modern geochemical cycles, as well as develop a basis for deciphering their origins and how organisms that utilized them may have altered the chemical and physical features of our planet.
AB - Bacteria are remarkable in their metabolic diversity due to their ability to harvest energy from myriad oxidation and reduction reactions. In some cases, their metabolisms involve redox transformations of metal(loid)s, which lead to the precipitation, transformation, or dissolution of minerals. Microorganism/mineral interactions not only affect the geochemistry of modern environments, but may also have contributed to shaping the near-surface environment of the early Earth. For example, bacterial anaerobic respiration of ferric iron or the toxic metalloid arsenic is well known to affect water quality in many parts of the world today, whereas the utilization of ferrous iron as an electron donor in anoxygenic photosynthesis may help explain the origin of Banded Iron Formations, a class of ancient sedimentary deposits. Bacterial genetics holds the key to understanding how these metabolisms work. Once the genes and gene products that catalyze geochemically relevant reactions are understood, as well as the conditions that trigger their expression, we may begin to predict when and to what extent these metabolisms influence modern geochemical cycles, as well as develop a basis for deciphering their origins and how organisms that utilized them may have altered the chemical and physical features of our planet.
KW - Arsenic
KW - Biogeochemistry
KW - Iron
KW - Photosynthesis
KW - Respiration
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U2 - 10.1146/annurev.genet.38.072902.091138
DO - 10.1146/annurev.genet.38.072902.091138
M3 - Review article
C2 - 15568975
AN - SCOPUS:10944259840
SN - 0066-4197
VL - 38
SP - 175
EP - 202
JO - Annual Review of Genetics
JF - Annual Review of Genetics
ER -