ArticleAstrobiology2012
Did mineral surface chemistry and toxicity contribute to evolution of microbial extracellular polymeric substances?
Article in Astrobiology, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Developing a mutant strain of Pseudomonas composti ODT-54 for enhanced production of Psl extracellular polysaccharide.Archives of microbiology · 2025Article
- VMT/ACP/Dextran composite nanosheets against dental caries through promoting mineralization of dentin tubules, pH buffering, and antibacterial.Journal of nanobiotechnology · 2024Article
- Bioenergetics of iron snow fueling life on Europa.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- A mineral-based origin of Earth's initial hydrogen peroxide and molecular oxygen.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- The role of soils in provision of genetic, medicinal and biochemical resources.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2021Review
- Natural silicate nanoparticles: separation, characterization, and assessment of stability and perspectives of their use as reference nanomaterials.Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry · 2021Article
- Bacteriostatic and bactericidal clays: an overview.Environmental geochemistry and health · 2020Review
- Particle toxicology and health - where are we?Particle and fibre toxicology · 2019Review
- Mineral Surface Chemistry and Nanoparticle-aggregation Control Membrane Self-Assembly.Scientific reports · 2017Article
- Unraveling the antibacterial mode of action of a clay from the Colombian Amazon.Environmental geochemistry and health · 2016Article
- Biofilm and planktonic lifestyles differently support the resistance of the desert cyanobacterium Chroococcidiopsis under space and Martian simulations.Origins of life and evolution of the biosphere : the journal of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life · 2013Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Modern ecological niches are teeming with an astonishing diversity of microbial life in biofilms closely associated with mineral surfaces, which highlights the remarkable success of microorganisms in conquering the challenges and capitalizing on the benefits presented by the mineral-water interface. Biofilm formation capability likely evolved on early Earth because biofilms provide crucial cell survival functions. The potential toxicity of mineral surfaces toward cells and the complexities of the mineral-water-cell interface in determining the toxicity mechanisms, however, have not been fully appreciated. Here, we report a previously unrecognized role for extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), which form biofilms in shielding cells against the toxicity of mineral surfaces. Using colony plating and LIVE/DEAD staining methods in oxide suspensions versus oxide-free controls, we found greater viability of wild-type, EPS-producing strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 compared to their isogenic knockout mutant with defective biofilm-producing capacity. Oxide toxicity was specific to its surface charge and particle size. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images and assays for highly reactive oxygen species (hROS) on mineral surfaces suggested that EPS shield via both physical and chemical mechanisms. Intriguingly, qualitative as well as quantitative measures of EPS production showed that toxic minerals induced EPS production in bacteria. By determining the specific toxicity mechanisms, we provide insight into the potential impact of mineral surfaces in promoting increased complexity of cell surfaces, including EPS and biofilm formation, on early Earth.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.