Microbial Whitings

Abstract

Two whitings case studies are reviewed for the role of bacteria in their formation. The first case study is from Fayetteville Green Lake in upstate New York. In this lake, Synechococcus plays a major role in the initiation of an annual whiting event. The whiting calcite precipitates principally in the microenvironment surrounding Synechococcus cells and is isotopically enriched in 13C due to the fractionation of 12C. Synechococcus possesses an S-layer that acts as a template for carbonate precipitation and the S-layer is shed from the cell surface once it is mineralized.