Sulfur microenvironments as hotspots for biogenic pyrite formation.

ABSTRACT: Pyrite (FeS₂) is the end-product of bacterial sulfur cycling in reduced sedimentary environments. Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) are mostly considered for biogenic pyrite formation due to their significant contribution to sulfide production at ambient temperatures. However, most experiments using SRB for biogenic pyrite formation resulted in the formation of only metastable iron sulfide minerals such as mackinawite (FeS). In this study, we investigated the roles of elemental sulfur (S⁰) and microbial sulfur reduction for pyrite formation. To this end, we cultivated the Fe(III)- and sulfur-reducing bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens in the presence of the Fe(III) (oxyhydr)oxide mineral ferrihydrite and elemental sulfur at two different Fe/S ratios (4:1 and 1:4). While

SUBMITTER: Sekerci F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12181240 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature