{
  "abstract": "Microbial iron cycling regulates nutrient availability and redox balance in global ecosystems, yet its pathways remain underexplored in ice-free Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems. This study reports the enrichment of a psychrotolerant microbial consortium from penguin-impacted soils on Beaufort Island, Antarctica, capable of reducing Fe(III) to Fe(II) at 4 °C via an anaerobic (likely fermentative) iron-reducing pathway. The consortium was dominated by Clostridium sensu stricto 13 and completely reduced 230 mg L-1 Fe(III) citrate within three months and drove the biogenic formation of magnetite (Fe3O4). Metagenomic binning yielded four high-quality Clostridium genomes harboring multiple hydrogenases and cold-shock proteins (csp), revealing genomic strategies for energy conservation and psychrotolerance. Hydrogen production was strongly suppressed in the presence of Fe(III) citrate, indicating an intimate coupling of fermentation-derived electron flow to Fe(III) reduction. Our findings reveal a previously unrecognized low-temperature iron reduction mechanism and highlight the ecological significance of anaerobic (likely fermentative) iron reducers in ornithogenic soils—microhabitats enriched in organic matter and metals by penguin guano. This work expands the known diversity of Fe(III)-reducing microorganisms, demonstrates their role in magnetite biomineralization under extreme conditions, and provides insights into microbial modulation of iron speciation in Antarctic ornithogenic soils.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Silviculture, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, Liaoning China",
    "University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China",
    "Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI USA",
    "Water Resources Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI USA",
    "Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, Liaoning China",
    "Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui China",
    "Key Laboratory for Polar Ecosystem and Climate Change, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China",
    "Shanghai Key Laboratory of Polar Life and Environment Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China",
    "School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan, China",
    "College of Life Sciences, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang, Liaoning China",
    "Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Environment and Health of New Pollutants, School of Environment, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, China"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 17,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2,
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Xin Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Hongyan Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Xuhao Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Hengyi Liao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Jiaojiao Yang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Huijuan Jin",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0686-2309"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Erik Hoffnagle"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Min Ki Jeon"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Yiru Cui"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Xiuying Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Xiaodong Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Xin Chen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Li Liao",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8548-1928"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Yiran Dong"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        9
      ],
      "name": "Lisi Jiang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        10
      ],
      "name": "Zongming Xiu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        4,
        6,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Yi Yang",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3519-5472"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fj3yks1sdy03y.bib",
  "cited_by": 1,
  "doi": "10.1038/s42003-026-10434-2",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13710753/",
  "id": "fj3yks1sdy03y",
  "issns": [
    "2399-3642"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-10434-2",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Article"
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      "openalex",
      "2303|Polar Research and Ecology"
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  "openalex": "W7167247295",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-026-10434-2_reference.pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13710753",
  "pmid": "42399687",
  "published": "2026-07-04",
  "publisher": "Nature Publishing Group",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fj3yks1sdy03y.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T12:21:39Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13710753",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-10434-2"
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2303|Polar Research and Ecology",
      "subfield": "ecology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Fermentative iron reduction by a psychrotolerant Clostridium-dominant consortium enriched from Antarctic penguin-impacted soils",
  "title_text": "Fermentative iron reduction by a psychrotolerant Clostridium-dominant consortium enriched from Antarctic penguin-impacted soils",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-31T12:21:39Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fj3yks1sdy03y",
  "venue": "Communications Biology",
  "versions": []
}