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Full-Text Articles in Microbiology
Virus Silicification Under Simulated Hot Spring Conditions, James R. Laidler, Kenneth M. Stedman
Virus Silicification Under Simulated Hot Spring Conditions, James R. Laidler, Kenneth M. Stedman
Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations
Silicification of organisms in silica-depositing environments can impact both their ecology and their presence in the fossil record. Although microbes have been silicified under laboratory and environmental conditions, viruses have not. Bacteriophage T4 was successfully silicified under laboratory conditions that closely simulated those found in silica-depositing hot springs. Virus morphology was maintained, and a clear elemental signature of phosphorus was detected by energy-dispersive X-ray spectrophotometry (EDS).