Identification of a novel type of glucose dehydrogenase involved in the mineral weathering ability of Collimonas pratensis strain PMB3(1)

The exact molecular mechanisms as well as the genes involved in the mineral weathering (MW) process by bacteria remain poorly characterized. To date, a single type of glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) depending on a particular co-factor named pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) is known. These enzymes allow the production of gluconic acid through the oxidation of glucose. However, it remains to be determined how bacteria missing PQQ-dependent GDH and/or the related pqq biogenesis genes weather minerals. In this study, we considered the very effective mineral weathering bacterial strain PMB3(1) of Collimonas pratensis. Genome analysis revealed that it does not possess the PQQ based system. The use of random mutagenesis, gene complementation and functional assays allowed us to identify mutants impacted in their ability to weather mineral. Among them, three mutants were strongly altered on their acidification and biotite weathering abilities (58 to 75% of reduction compared to WT) and did not produce gluconic acid. The characterization of the genomic regions allowed noticeably to the identification of a Glucose/Methanol/Choline oxidoreductase. This region appeared very conserved among collimonads and related genera. This study represents the first demonstration of the implication of a PQQ-independent GDH in the mineral weathering process and explains how Collimonas weather minerals.

Porosity production in weathered rock: Where volumetric strain dominates over chemical mass loss

Weathering in the critical zone causes volumetric strain and mass loss, thereby creating subsurface porosity that is vital to overlying ecosystems. We used geochemical and geophysical measurements to quantify the relative importance of volumetric strain and mass loss---the physical and chemical components of porosity---in weathering of granitic saprolite of the southern Sierra Nevada, California, USA. Porosity and strain decrease with depth and imply that saprolite more than doubles in volume during exhumation to the surface by erosion. Chemical depletion is relatively uniform, indicating that changes in porosity are dominated by processes that cause strain with little mass loss. Strain-induced porosity production at our site may arise from root wedging, biotite weathering, frost cracking, and the opening of fractures under ambient topographic stresses. Our analysis challenges the conventional view that volumetric strain can be assumed to be negligible as a porosity-producing mechanism in saprolite.

A preliminary study on the new geotechnical weathering index in the evaluation of altered biotite granite

The existing chemical index of alteration has a difficulty to evaluate the degree of weathering in biotite granites due to an assumption that K2O content decreases along with Na2O, CaO, and MgO. We found that relative K2O content increases during weathering of biotite granite, as it is retained within such rocks due to (1) the chemical and physical stability of K-feldspar and (2) the formation of illite via incorporation of K ions released from biotite. The calculated ranges of most chemical indexes for biotite granite weathering do not show a good correlation with the weathering grade except the CIW, WIP and V indexes. The range of the CIW, WIP and V indexes according to the weathering grade were very small, and thus small errors in whole-rock chemical analyses can produce large discrepancies in calculated values. Further, the WPI index is a relative weathering index that depends on the composition of a fresh standard sample and cannot be applied to determine the absolute degree of weathering in granites if no protolith is available. We suggest a new weathering index (BWI; Biotite weathering index) based on a decrease in the number of K ions in the interlayer site of biotite during weathering of granite. Newly calculated values show a much wider range than the CIW, WIP and V indexes with a good relationship with a weathering grade. Therefore, it is necessary to establish the new index for a detailed classification of weathering degree.