title: Inhibition of Sporosarcina pasteurii under anoxic conditions: implications for subsurface carbonate precipitation and remediation via ureolysis.
abstract: The use of  Sporosarcina pasteurii  to precipitate calcium carbonate in the anoxic subsurface via ureolysis has been proposed for reducing porosity and sealing fractures in rocks. Here we show that  S. pasteurii  is unable to grow anaerobically and that the ureolytic activity previously shown under anoxic conditions is a consequence of the urease enzyme already present in the cells of the aerobically grown inoculum. The implications are discussed, suggesting that de novo synthesis of urease under anoxic conditions is not possible and that ureolysis may decline over time without repeated injection of  S. pasteurii  as the urease enzyme degrades and/or becomes inhibited. Augmentation with a different ureolytic species that is able to grow anaerobically or stimulation of natural communities may be preferable for carbonate precipitation over the long term.
authors: School of Geosciences, Grant Institute, University of Edinburgh, The Kings Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3JW, United Kingdom. d.martin@ed.ac.uk
authors: Derek
authors: D
authors: Martin
authors: Kevin
authors: K
authors: Dodds
authors: Bryne T
authors: BT
authors: Ngwenya
authors: Ian B
authors: IB
authors: Butler
authors: Stephen C
authors: SC
authors: Elphick
mesh_terms: D002254:Carbonates / Q000378:metabolism*; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000378:metabolism*; D058644:Sporosarcina / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D014508:Urea / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002254:Carbonates; D014508:Urea