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Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC-ND 4.0Communications Biology

Fermentative iron reduction by a psychrotolerant Clostridium-dominant consortium enriched from Antarctic penguin-impacted soils

  • Xin Wang1,2,3,4,5
  • Hongyan Wang1,5
  • Xuhao Wang1,5
  • Hengyi Liao1,5
  • Jiaojiao Yang2,5
  • Huijuan Jin5
  • Erik Hoffnagle3,4
  • Min Ki Jeon3,4
  • Yiru Cui5
  • Xiuying Li5
  • Xiaodong Liu6
  • Xin Chen7
5 more authors
  • Li Liao8
  • Yiran Dong9
  • Lisi Jiang10
  • Zongming Xiu11
  • Yi Yang1,5,7,8
11 affiliations
  1. 1Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Silviculture, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, Liaoning China
  2. 2University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
  3. 3Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI USA
  4. 4Water Resources Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI USA
  5. 5Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, Liaoning China
  6. 6Anhui 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
  7. 7Key Laboratory for Polar Ecosystem and Climate Change, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
  8. 8Shanghai Key Laboratory of Polar Life and Environment Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
  9. 9School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan, China
  10. 10College of Life Sciences, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang, Liaoning China
  11. 11Zhejiang 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
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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.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{wang2026fermentative,
  title = {{Fermentative iron reduction by a psychrotolerant Clostridium-dominant consortium enriched from Antarctic penguin-impacted soils}},
  author = {Xin Wang and Hongyan Wang and Xuhao Wang and Hengyi Liao and Jiaojiao Yang and Huijuan Jin and Erik Hoffnagle and Min Ki Jeon and Yiru Cui and Xiuying Li and Xiaodong Liu and Xin Chen and Li Liao and Yiran Dong and Lisi Jiang and Zongming Xiu and Yi Yang},
  journal = {Communications Biology},
  year = {2026},
  month = jul,
  doi = {10.1038/s42003-026-10434-2},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-10434-2},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Fermentative iron reduction by a psychrotolerant Clostridium-dominant consortium enriched from Antarctic penguin-impacted soils
AU  - Xin Wang
AU  - Hongyan Wang
AU  - Xuhao Wang
AU  - Hengyi Liao
AU  - Jiaojiao Yang
AU  - Huijuan Jin
AU  - Erik Hoffnagle
AU  - Min Ki Jeon
AU  - Yiru Cui
AU  - Xiuying Li
AU  - Xiaodong Liu
AU  - Xin Chen
AU  - Li Liao
AU  - Yiran Dong
AU  - Lisi Jiang
AU  - Zongming Xiu
AU  - Yi Yang
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/04
JO  - Communications Biology
DO  - 10.1038/s42003-026-10434-2
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-10434-2
AB  - 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.
SN  - 2399-3642
ER  -