Biogeochemistry and microbiology of microaerobic Fe(II) oxidation

Today high Fe(II) environments are relegated to oxic-anoxic habitats with opposing gradients of O2 and Fe(II); however, during the late Archaean and early Proterozoic eons, atmospheric O2 concentrations were much lower and aqueous Fe(II) concentrations were significantly higher. In current Fe(II)-rich environments, such as hydrothermal vents, mudflats, freshwater wetlands or the rhizosphere, rusty mat-like deposits are common. The presence of abundant biogenic microtubular or filamentous iron oxyhydroxides readily reveals the role of FeOB (iron-oxidizing bacteria) in iron mat formation. Cultivation and cultivation-independent techniques, confirm that FeOB are abundant in these mats. Despite remarkable similarities in morphological characteristics between marine and freshwater FeOB communities, the resident populations of FeOB are phylogenetically distinct, with marine populations related to the class Zetaproteobacteria, whereas freshwater populations are dominated by members of the Gallionallaceae, a family within the Betaproteobacteria. Little is known about the mechanism of how FeOB acquire electrons from Fe(II), although it is assumed that it involves electron transfer from the site of iron oxidation at the cell surface to the cytoplasmic membrane. Comparative genomics between freshwater and marine strains reveals few shared genes, except for a suite of genes that include a class of molybdopterin oxidoreductase that could be involved in iron oxidation via extracellular electron transport. Other genes are implicated as well, and the overall genomic analysis reveals a group of organisms exquisitely adapted for growth on iron.