Iron and Iron bacteria

Iron
 Essential element
 Fourth most common element
in the earth’s crust
 Important for a wide range of
biological processes
 Key component of enzymes
 Non-availability of iron
 The most abundant form of Fe in soils is ferric
oxide (Fe2O3) or hematite - extremely insoluble and
imparts a red color to the soil.
 In aerobic soils, the oxide, hydroxide, and
phosphate forms control the concentration of Fe in
solution and its availability to plants.
 In typical aerated plant production systems of
acceptable reaction (pH) of 6.0, the concentrations
ferrous Fe++ iron are of a very low concentration
 As pH increases by one unit, activity of Fe+++
decreases by 1000-fold due to the formation of
insoluble Fe +++hydroxide.
 Under reducing conditions—addition of H+ or
other reductants—Fe solubility increases. Under
such situations, Fe can be adsorbed on soil as an
exchangeable ion.
 Iron in plants
1. Structural components of porphyrin
molecules: cytochromes, heme, hematin,
ferrichrome, leghemoglobins. Involved
in oxidation-reduction reactions in
respiration and photosynthesis.
2. Structural components of molecules
without heme: ferridoxins and Fe-S
proteins.
3. Enzymatic systems: cytochrome oxidase,
catalase, peroxidase, aconitase, fatty-acid
desaturases, synthesis of chlorophyll
(various enzymes), nitrogenase, etc.
4. Involved in the synthesis of chlorophyll
Porphyrin Ring in Heme
 Iron requirement in plants
 Most annual plants have a requirement for Fe on the order of
1 to 1.5 lb Fe per acre, compared with nitrogen (N) at 80 to
200 lb per acre
 Iron absorption
 Where organic matter is present in soils, Fe
may be present in its reduced state as Fe++ in
the soil solution or adsorbed onto soil particle
surfaces
 Organic matter in soils plays a major role in
the availability of Fe to plants
 Biochemical compounds or organic acids
(aliphatic acids or amino acids) and complex
polymers (humic and fulvic acids) can form
soluble complexes with Fe, or act as
chelating agents and thereby increase Fe
availability to plants
 Chelating agents are organic compounds that
complex with Fe and help hold Fe in more
soluble forms
 Iron absorption
 Iron uptake by the plant is not as simple
as with other essential elements
 Iron is taken up by plant roots in greatest
amounts in the zone of the root between
cell elongation and maturation, about 1
to 4 cm behind the root tip
 Uptake of Fe by the plant is an active
process, that is, energy is expended by
the plant to take in Fe.
 Iron uptake is dependent on the plant’s
ability to reduce Fe+++ to Fe++ and
remove it from the complex or chelating
compound
 Iron absorption
 Research evidence shows
reduction occurs at the cell
surface and that electrons from
within the cell are used
 The same 1- to 4-cm area behind
the root tip where most Fe is
absorbed also is the area of the
root where most protons and
reductants are released
 The chelated Fe in the soil
solution moves to the root by mass
flow or by diffusion
 At the root, Fe is reduced and
removed from the chelating
molecule and moved across the
cell membrane
Iron in the plant
 Once Fe is moved across the membrane it is complexed with
organic acids in the cell, which prevents Fe precipitation with
phosphate or hydroxide
 The most important organic acid in this process is citrate
 Iron in the plant is mostly in the ferric form, and much of the
Fe is found in the plastids.
 Another significant pool of Fe is found in the apoplast
(extracellular area) of the older part of the root
 Iron deficiency
 Fe deficiency symptoms show up
first in the youngest leaves. These
young leaves show yellowing,
sometimes referred to as “iron
chlorosis.”
 Soils with a basic reaction (>pH 7.2)
often result in Fe deficiency because
under these elevated pH conditions
Fe is largely in the oxide and
unavailable form
 Acidic soils also can lead to Fe
deficiency, likely due to manganese
competition with Fe uptake
 Iron absorption
 In grasses, phytosiderophores (organic acids) are synthesized
by the plant root and released into the rhizosphere, where
they form complexes with Fe. The phytosiderophore-Fe
complex is moved across the membrane in the root
 Iron cycle
 Redox reactions
 Ferrous to ferric
 Ferric and ferrous
 Ferrous more soluble form
 Ferric ions precipitate in alkaline environments as ferric
hydroxide
 Ferric ions are reduced to the more soluble ferrous ions in
anaerobic conditions
 However, under certain anaerobic conditions hydrogen
sulphide might precipitate ion as ferrous sulphide
Iron Cycle
 Flooding of soil which promotes anaerobic conditions favors
the ferrous form
 In an anaerobic environment, iron cycle is dominated by iron
reduction and precipitation of iron sulphides
 In well aerated soils, ferric is the predominant form
 In an aerobic environments, microbial ion oxidation
predominates and in neutral environments chelation
dominates
 Siderophores
 Microbial growth is limited by
the availability of iron
 Various bacteria produce
siderophores which bind iron
and facilitates its cellular
uptake
 Siderophores = ‘Iron Bearers’
in greek
 Siderophores are chelating
agents that facilitate the
solubilization and uptake of
iron
Siderophores
 Water soluble
 Low molecular weight (500 – 1500 Da)
 Bind ferric with high affinity
 Two most common groups of siderophores are the
hydroxamates and the catecholamides
 Excretion of siderophores is induced by iron deficiency
 Iron
 Some chemolithotrophs oxidize iron to generate cellular
energy
 Iron oxidizing bacteria can lead to substantial iron deposits
Fe precipitation in bacteria
(1) Within some bacteria ferrous is converted to ferric and
precipitated as ferric hydroxide
(2) Under anaerobic conditions sulphide formed from sulphate
may remove iron as ferrous sulphide
Iron and plants
 Iron ore is present in a non-available form to plants
 Essential to convert non-available form to a bio-available
form
Fe solubilization in bacteria
(1) Heterotrophic bacteria decompose organic iron salts in to
inorganic and soluble iron forms (Using Siderophores)
Examples - Pseudomonas aeruginosa

(2) Microorganisms produce acidic products that which bring

iron in to solution

(3) Organic acids produced promote the solubilization of

organic-iron complexes
Iron Bacteria
 In 1888, eminent Russian microbiologist S. Winogradsky
reported the isolation of a strain of Lepothrix
 Lepothrix had the capacity to oxidize ferrous ions and
precipitate ferric hydroxide
Iron Bacteria
 Iron bacteria may be defined as “that group of aerobic
bacteria which appear to utilize the oxidation of ferrous
and/or manganous ions as an essential component in their
metabolic functioning.”
 The resultant production of ferric arid/or manganic salts
(usually the hydroxide) within the cell or cell coatings gives
the bacteria their typical brown coloration.
 Two major groups of iron bacteria - Gallionella and
Sphaerotilus
Iron bacteria - Distribution
 Iron containing spring water
 Even found in drinking water
 Responsible for the foul smell in water pipes as a result of
accumulation of large amounts of ferric salts
 Iron oxidizing bacteria
 Obtain energy from oxidation of ferrous compounds
 Examples – Thiobacillus ferrooxidans, Sulfolobus acidocaldarius
 Activity of iron oxidizing bacteria can lead to substantial iron
deposits
 In acidic swampy soil, iron is converted from ferrous to its
ferric forms which result in bog-iron deposits
Thiobacillus ferrooxidans
 Motile
 Aerobic
 Proteobacteria
 Chemolithotroph
 Bacillus
 Grows at pH 2-4
 Converts ferrous sulphate to ferric sulphate
 Most active bacteria in mine wastes due to acid and metal
pollution
Iron Bacteria - Families
 Caulbacteriacaea
 Siderocapsacae
 Chlamydobacteriacaea
 Crenothricaceae
Iron reducing bacteria
 Anoxic conditions
 Leads to accumulation of ferrous ions
 Iron reduction is carried out by specialized iron reducing
bacteria
 Examples
 Geobacter metallireducens
 Geobacter Sulfurreducens
 Ferribacterium limneticum
 Shewanella putrefaciens
 Desulfovibrio
 Pseudomonas
Iron reducing bacteria
 In soils, iron reduction is linked to a condition called gleying
which gives the soil a greenish color and sticky appearance
 Predominant reducers within gleying soils include Bacillus
and Pseudomonas
Iron Biofertilizer – Possibility ?
 Unique ability of dried plant residues Azolla to adsorb iron
(Fe) – Potential biofertilizer

 Bacterial siderophores may act as virulence factors in

pathogenic bacteria and thus, bacteria that secrete
siderophores are more virulent than non- siderophores
producers
 Therefore, siderophore producing bacteria can be used as
biocontrol agents eg. Fluorescent pseudomonas species used to
control Pythium, causing damping-off diseases in seedlings
Iron Fertilizer – The Common Path
Fertilizer Formula or material % Fe

Ferric sulfate FeSO4 . 7H2O 20

Ferrous sulfate Fe(SO4)3 . 4H2O 23

Ferric oxide Fe 2O3 70

Ferrous oxide FeO 77

e. g., NaFeEDTA,
Iron chelates (several) 5–15
NaFeDTPA

Iron polyflavonoids Complex 10

Iron Ligninsulfonates Complex 5–8

Animal manures Complex 0.1–1.0

 Hope you have
developed an
appreciation of Fe in the
soil……