Effects of temperature on rates and mineral products of microbial Fe(II) oxidation by Leptothrix cholodnii at microaerobic conditions

Oxygen concentrations are important in constraining the geochemical niche of neutrophilic iron oxidizers. However, other factors like temperature may affect the competition between microbial and abiotic Fe(II) oxidation and may cause community changes. Here, rates and mineral products of Fe(II) oxidation (initial concentration 150 μmol Fe(II)/l) by the Fe(II) oxidizing bacterial strain Leptothrix cholodnii Appels were compared to those of abiotic oxidation in the temperature range 11-37 °C. Experiments were carried out in a batch reactor at 12-13 μmol O2/l (0.92-1% O2 saturation), pH 7 and, for the microbial experiments, a cell density of around 108 cells/ml. The iron precipitates formed at the different temperatures were characterized by SEM, XRD, FTIR and Mössbauer spectroscopy. Abiotic and microbial Fe(II) oxidation proceeded in two stages. During the initial stage, rates of microbial oxidation exhibited a temperature optimum curve. In contrast, the temperature dependency of abiotic Fe(II) oxidation rate followed the Arrhenius equation. As a consequence, microbial oxidation rates were about 10 times higher compared to the abiotic oxidation at 30 °C. During the second stage, microbial and abiotic rates and their temperature dependencies were similar. Independent of temperature or presence of bacteria, lepidocrocite and ferrihydrite were identified as reaction products, but the characteristics of the precipitates differed. At 37 °C, less lepidocrocite was precipitated in microbial and abiotic experiments due to high oxidation rates. Abiotic oxidation produced larger lepidocrocite crystals mixed with smaller, less crystalline oxides. Large crystals were absent in the microbial products, possibly due to growth inhibition of the minerals by EPS substances. Nevertheless, Mössbauer spectra revealed a better crystal structure of the smaller, microbial precipitates compared to the abiotically formed oxides.