Biogenic polyamines capture CO2 and accelerate extracellular bacterial CaCO3 formation.
Bacteria, including cyanobacteria, as well as some fungi, are known to deposit calcium carbonate (CaCO(3)) extracellularly in calcium-containing artificial medium. Despite extensive investigation, the mechanisms involved in extracellular formation of CaCO(3) by bacteria have remained unclear. The ability of synthetic amines to remove carbon dioxide (CO(2)) from natural gas led us to examine the role of biogenic polyamines in CaCO(3) deposition by bacteria. Here, we demonstrated that biogenic polyamines such as putrescine, spermidine, and spermine were able to react with atmospheric CO(2) and the resultant carbamate anion was characterized by using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis. Biogenic polyamines accelerated the formation of CaCO(3), and we artificially synthesized the dumbbell-shaped calcites, which had the same form as observed with bacterial CaCO3 precipitates, under nonbacterial conditions by using polyamines. The reaction rate of calcification increased with temperature with an optimum of around 40 °C. Our observation suggests a novel scheme for CO(2) dissipation that could be a potential tool in reducing atmospheric CO(2) levels and, therefore, global warming.
Kitasato University School of Marine Biosciences, 1-15-1 Kitasato, Minami, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-0373, Japan, yasumoto@kitasato-u.ac.jp.
Ko
K
Yasumoto
Mina
M
Yasumoto-Hirose
Jun
J
Yasumoto
Ryo
R
Murata
Shun-Ichi
S
Sato
Megumi
M
Baba
Kanami
K
Mori-Yasumoto
Mitsuru
M
Jimbo
Yasukatsu
Y
Oshima
Takenori
T
Kusumi
Shugo
S
Watabe
D015317:Biogenic Polyamines / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D002119:Calcium Carbonate / Q000378:metabolism*; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D045604:Extracellular Fluid / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism*
D015317:Biogenic Polyamines; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D002119:Calcium Carbonate