Analytical HRTEM of bacteria and extracellular polymers in natural microbial mats.
EMSL Project ID
1731
Abstract
Natural microbial mats in basaltic caves are intimately associated with authigenic carbonate and silicate minerals. Previous work has shown that mineral formation is influenced by the bacteria, their abundant extracellular polymers, and the physicochemical properties within the mats. It is suspected that ions may be adsorbed on to functional groups of the polymers and concentration of ions at these sites may lead to crystal nucleation and mineral growth. Regular TEM-EDS analysis has not shown conclusively the role of extracellular polymers in binding ions from solution. This lack of evidence is primarily due to the relatively poor resolution of the TEM-EDS system (~1 micron). Thus, it is proposed that analysis of these samples with HRTEM and digital imaging (e.g., elemental mapping) will be able to demonstrate conclusively if indeed extracellular polymers are concentrating ions and ultimately serving as nucleation sites for mineral formation.
Project Details
Project type
Exploratory Research
Start Date
2000-04-01
End Date
2000-08-31
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator