Scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have discovered a type of metal-eating bacteria.
The bacterium is reportedly suspected to have existed for more than a century, but has not been proven.
The tiny microbes were discovered by accident, as scientists were conducting experiments unrelated to manganese, a mineral that is usually found in combination with iron.
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Dr. Jared Leadbetter, a professor of environmental microbiology at Caltech, left a glass jar covered in the substance to soak in his office sink.
He did not return to the office for several months while working off campus, but upon his return he found the flask covered in a dark substance that later turned out to be rusty manganese.
That compound was formed by the bacteria.
Scientists had previously known that bacteria and fungi could oxidize manganese or take away electronics, but microbes that could use such actions to drive growth had not yet been discovered.
“These are the first bacteria to use manganese as a fuel source,” Leadbetter said. “A wonderful aspect of microbes in nature is that they can metabolize seemingly improbable materials, like metals, producing useful energy for the cell.”
“There is evidence that the relatives of these creatures reside in groundwater, and some of Pasadena’s drinking water is pumped from local aquifers,” Leadbetter added, CNN reported.
Groundwater is the water present below the Earth’s surface, located in cracks in the ground, sand, and rocks.
Bacteria can remove pollutants in water, through a process known as bioremediation, reducing the amount of manganese oxide in the same way that humans breathe air.
Researchers can now better understand the chemistry of its phenomenon, which “serves to provide other microbes with what they need to carry out reactions that we consider beneficial and desirable,” Leadbetter said.
Scientists also believe the discovery will help them better understand Earth’s elemental cycles and how the metal has affected the planet’s evolution.
Manganese nodules are often found on the seafloor and can be as large as grapefruit.
Marine researchers at HMS Challenger in the 1870s knew of its existence but could not explain it.
Recently, mining companies have planned to use these nodules as a source of rare metals.
The findings were published in Nature.
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