Myxococcus xanthus colony calcification: An study to better understand the processes involved in the formation of this stromatolite-like structure

Abstract

Calcium carbonate precipitation is a common phenomenon in nature and has been observed to be mediated by a number of microorganisms (for a review, see Castanier et al. 2000; Wright and Oren 2005). Bacterially induced carbonate mineralization is important in a wide range of processes including atmospheric CO2 budgeting (Braissant et al. 2002; Ehrlich 2002), carbonate sediment and rock formation (Riding 2000; Ben Chekroun et al. © 2011 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.