The objective of the original and current research is to study the genetic basis of neutrophilic microbial iron oxidation to elucidate its relation to iron oxyhydroxide biomineralization and develop a means to monitor biological iron oxidation in the environment. This work involves identifying components of the iron oxidation electron transport pathways using genomic analysis and protein isolation and characterization techniques. Iron-oxidizing proteins will be located in cells from cultures using antibody labeling and electron microscopy. The data will be analyzed to determine the spatial and functional relationships between enzymatic iron oxidation, extracellular polymer formation, and iron oxyhydroxide mineralization. The primary results anticipated include the identification of an iron oxidase enzyme and microscopic proof that this enzyme deposits oxidized iron on polymers that are extruded outside the cell to form a mineralized biofilm matrix. Such results would represent a major breakthrough in understanding the physiology of iron-oxidizing bacteria (FeOB).
The broader impacts of this project will be its advancement of the career of a promising young female investigator. It will also have a significant beenfit to the broader scientific community. The role of iron oxidizing microbes in the formation of ubiquitous deposits is in need of greater study.
