SHEWANELLA ONEIDENSIS AND THE DISSOLUTION OF CALCITE AT NEUTRAL PH
After 20 minutes, the control crystal exhibited a large number of etch pits, whereas the formation of etch pits was almost entirely inhibited by the microbes on the crystal with the Shewanella, and the rare etch pits present were quite shallow compared with those developed on the control crystal.
The microbes quickly (<20 min) settled on the crystal surface creating negative features, as though moving into the crystal. They formed chains and, ultimately, networks as they attached to the crystal, appearing to control dissolution of the calcite, a very different behavior than the dissolution of the control crystal. At 45 min, dissolution pits were ubiquitous and coalescing with each other on the control crystal, whereas the attachment of the microbial biomass still almost totally prevented formation of these etch pits. By 90 min., the crystal surface was almost entirely covered with a mat-like film of organisms and exo-polysaccharide filaments. Etch pits were shallow and undeveloped with respect to those that formed and coalesced on the control surface.
These preliminary results imply that Shewanella is able to detect the high energy sites at the mineral surface, i.e., the outcrops of dislocations, settle and take control over the dissolution process. Moreover, such results further imply that microbes might play a significant role in the stabilization of carbonates under conditions that might otherwise favor their dissolution.