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Calcite Spherulite Formations And Their Controls In Halophilic Bacterial Cultures, Zakaria Jibrin
Calcite Spherulite Formations And Their Controls In Halophilic Bacterial Cultures, Zakaria Jibrin
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This study arose from an accidental discovery of calcite spherulites forming on colonies of various halophilic bacteria grown on solid Luria-Bertani medium made containing water from a brine pool in Death Valley, their natural habitat. Further studies with a large spherulite forming bacteria, Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis, showed that calcite precipitation conditions were the consequence of bacteria using amino acids as a source of carbon and energy, a metabolism that produces NH3 and CO2 waste products. NH3 raises the pH of the medium, turning CO2 into CO32-. Calcium in the natural brine combines with CO32-. The resulting spherulitic calcite precipitation is nano-acicular …