Synonyms
Fe-reducers; Fe-reducing prokaryotes/microorganisms; Ferric iron-reducing prokaryotes/microorganisms; Iron-reducers; Iron-reducing prokaryotes/microorganisms; Iron(III)-reducing prokaryotes/microorganisms
Definition
Fe(III)-reducing prokaryotes. Various species of the prokaryotic domains Bacteria and Archaea have the ability to reduce Fe(III), ferric iron, to Fe(II), ferrous iron, by the transfer of electrons. The electrons for Fe(III) reduction derive mainly from the metabolic oxidation of organic compounds or hydrogen.
Introduction
Reduction of Fe(III) by prokaryotes has been known since the beginning of the twentieth century but was not considered to be of importance. At that time, only few bacterial strains were known to reduce small amounts of Fe(III) during fermentation. In addition, it was misleadingly presumed that prokaryotes cause reduction of Fe(III) mainly indirectly by producing sulfide, releasing organic compounds, lowering the redox potential, or decreasing the...
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Straub, K.L. (2011). Fe(III)-Reducing Prokaryotes. In: Reitner, J., Thiel, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geobiology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9212-1_89
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