Why do microbes make minerals?
Prokaryotes have been shaping the surface of the Earth and impacting geochemical cycles for the past four billion years. Biomineralization, the capacity to form minerals, is a key process by which microbes interact with their environment. While we keep improving our understanding of the mechanisms o...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Académie des sciences
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Comptes Rendus. Géoscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/geoscience/articles/10.5802/crgeos.107/ |
| _version_ | 1797651309877264384 |
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| author | Cosmidis, Julie Benzerara, Karim |
| author_facet | Cosmidis, Julie Benzerara, Karim |
| author_sort | Cosmidis, Julie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Prokaryotes have been shaping the surface of the Earth and impacting geochemical cycles for the past four billion years. Biomineralization, the capacity to form minerals, is a key process by which microbes interact with their environment. While we keep improving our understanding of the mechanisms of this process (“how?”), questions around its functions and adaptive roles (“why?”) have been less intensively investigated. Here, we discuss biomineral functions for several examples of prokaryotic biomineralization systems, and propose a roadmap for the study of microbial biomineralization through the lens of adaptation. We also discuss emerging questions around the potential roles of biomineralization in microbial cooperation and as important components of biofilm architectures. We call for a shift of focus from mechanistic to adaptive aspects of biomineralization, in order to gain a deeper comprehension of how microbial communities function in nature, and improve our understanding of life co-evolution with its mineral environment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T16:14:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5d2c256abecc48c790963ee9469816b1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1778-7025 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T16:14:09Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Académie des sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Comptes Rendus. Géoscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-5d2c256abecc48c790963ee9469816b12023-10-24T14:24:22ZengAcadémie des sciencesComptes Rendus. Géoscience1778-70252022-01-01354G113910.5802/crgeos.10710.5802/crgeos.107Why do microbes make minerals?Cosmidis, Julie0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3428-8447Benzerara, Karim1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0553-0137Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UKInstitut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie, Sorbonne Université, UMR CNRS 7590, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, FranceProkaryotes have been shaping the surface of the Earth and impacting geochemical cycles for the past four billion years. Biomineralization, the capacity to form minerals, is a key process by which microbes interact with their environment. While we keep improving our understanding of the mechanisms of this process (“how?”), questions around its functions and adaptive roles (“why?”) have been less intensively investigated. Here, we discuss biomineral functions for several examples of prokaryotic biomineralization systems, and propose a roadmap for the study of microbial biomineralization through the lens of adaptation. We also discuss emerging questions around the potential roles of biomineralization in microbial cooperation and as important components of biofilm architectures. We call for a shift of focus from mechanistic to adaptive aspects of biomineralization, in order to gain a deeper comprehension of how microbial communities function in nature, and improve our understanding of life co-evolution with its mineral environment.https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/geoscience/articles/10.5802/crgeos.107/CarbonatesBiomineralizationMicrobial evolutionCooperationBiofilmsSulfurIronCarbonates |
| spellingShingle | Cosmidis, Julie Benzerara, Karim Why do microbes make minerals? Comptes Rendus. Géoscience Carbonates Biomineralization Microbial evolution Cooperation Biofilms Sulfur Iron Carbonates |
| title | Why do microbes make minerals? |
| title_full | Why do microbes make minerals? |
| title_fullStr | Why do microbes make minerals? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Why do microbes make minerals? |
| title_short | Why do microbes make minerals? |
| title_sort | why do microbes make minerals |
| topic | Carbonates Biomineralization Microbial evolution Cooperation Biofilms Sulfur Iron Carbonates |
| url | https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/geoscience/articles/10.5802/crgeos.107/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT cosmidisjulie whydomicrobesmakeminerals AT benzerarakarim whydomicrobesmakeminerals |