HR: 1340h
AN: B43A-0142    [Abstracts]
TI: Role of "electron shuttles" in the bioreduction of Fe(III) oxides in humid forest tropical soils.
AU: * Peretyazhko, T
EM: tperetya@nature.berkeley.edu
AF: UC Berkeley, 235 Hilgard Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720
AU: Sposito, G
EM: gsposito@nature.berkeley.edu
AF: UC Berkeley, 235 Hilgard Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720
AB: Dissimilatory iron-reducing bacteria (DIRB) can reduce Fe(III) oxides either by direct contact between the organisms and the oxide surface or by indirect mechanisms not involving contact. These latter mechanisms can include (i) "electron shuttling" or (ii) soluble Fe(III) complexation with subsequent reduction. In the presence of humic substances, indirect Fe(III) reduction occurs, particularly by mechanism (i). Important electron-accepting groups in humic substances include quinone moieties, complexed Fe(III) and conjugated aromatic moieties. A model compound frequently used to study mechanism (i) is anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS), which is believed to function as an "electron shuttle" in a manner similar to humic substances. We are currently investigating Fe(III) reduction in humid tropical forest soils as affected by "electron shuttles," using AQDS and humic substances in our experiments. The soil samples were collected at the bottom of a toposequence in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. Development of anaerobic conditions in these soils occurs due to high precipitation and runoff water inputs. Fourteen-day anoxic incubations of soil suspensions amended with AQDS showed enhanced production of both soluble and particulate forms of Fe(II) as compared to non-amended soil suspensions. Our data indicated clearly that DIRB in the soil could utilize added "electron shuttles" effectively to reduce Fe(III). To examine factors controlling Fe(III) reduction by humic acid (HA), three IHSS HA samples (soil, peat and Leonardite) were both abiotically reduced by H2 treatment and microbially reduced by incubation with a filtrate from a soil suspension, then titrated with three different oxidants (iodine, cyanoferrate, and ferric citrate) to provide chemical and biological estimates of electron-accepting capacity at pH 5 and 7. The results will be discussed in terms of the three oxidants used, the properties of the HA samples, pH, and the effects of chemical vs. biological reduction.
DE: 0400 Biogeosciences
SC: Biogeosciences [B]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting