Publication: Intricate tunnels in garnets from soils and river sediments in Thailand – Possible endolithic microborings
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Issued Date
2018
Resource Type
File Type
application/pdf
ISSN
19326203
Other identifier(s)
2-s2.0-85051426408
Rights Holder(s)
Scopus
Bibliographic Citation
PLoS ONE. Vol 13, No.8 (2018)
Suggested Citation
Ivarsson M., Skogby H., Phichaikamjornwut B., Bengtson S., Siljeström S., Ounchanum P., Boonsoong A., Kruachanta M., Marone F., Belivanova V., Holmström S. Intricate tunnels in garnets from soils and river sediments in Thailand – Possible endolithic microborings. PLoS ONE. Vol 13, No.8 (2018). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0200351 Retrieved from: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14740/3716
Abstract
Garnets from disparate geographical environments and origins such as oxidized soils and river sediments in Thailand host intricate systems of microsized tunnels that significantly decrease the quality and value of the garnets as gems. The origin of such tunneling has previously been attributed to abiotic processes. Here we present physical and chemical remains of endolithic microorganisms within the tunnels and discuss a probable biological origin of the tunnels. Extensive investigations with synchrotron-radiation X-ray tomographic microscopy (SRXTM) reveal morphological indications of biogenicity that further support a euendolithic interpretation. We suggest that the production of the tunnels was initiated by a combination of abiotic and biological processes, and that at later stages biological processes came to dominate. In environments such as river sediments and oxidized soils garnets are among the few remaining sources of bio-available Fe2+, thus it is likely that microbially mediated boring of the garnets has trophic reasons. Whatever the reason for garnet boring, the tunnel system represents a new endolithic habitat in a hard silicate mineral otherwise known to be resistant to abrasion and chemical attack. © 2018 Ivarsson et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Subject(s)
Garnet
Iron
Silicate
Unclassified drug
Ferrous ion
Mineral
Silicate
Article
Endolithic microorganism
Garnet boring
Geographic and geological parameters
Habitat use
Microscopy
Morphology
Organisms by habitat
Oxidation
River
Sediment
Soil
Synchrotron radiation X ray tomographic microscopy
Thailand
Chemistry
Fossil
Microbiology
Scanning electron microscopy
Spectroscopy
Ferrous Compounds
Fossils
Geologic Sediments
Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
Minerals
Rivers
Silicates
Soil
Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission
Thailand
Iron
Silicate
Unclassified drug
Ferrous ion
Mineral
Silicate
Article
Endolithic microorganism
Garnet boring
Geographic and geological parameters
Habitat use
Microscopy
Morphology
Organisms by habitat
Oxidation
River
Sediment
Soil
Synchrotron radiation X ray tomographic microscopy
Thailand
Chemistry
Fossil
Microbiology
Scanning electron microscopy
Spectroscopy
Ferrous Compounds
Fossils
Geologic Sediments
Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
Minerals
Rivers
Silicates
Soil
Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission
Thailand