Engineered Ureolytic Microorganisms Can Tailor the Morphology and Nanomechanical Properties of Microbial-Precipitated Calcium Carbonate

Heveran, Chelsea M.; Liang, Liya; Nagarajan, Aparna; Hubler, Mija H.; Gill, Ryan; Cameron, Jeffrey C.; Cook, Sherri M.; Srubar, II, Wil V.

doi:10.1038/s41598-019-51133-9

Engineered Ureolytic Microorganisms Can Tailor the Morphology and Nanomechanical Properties of Microbial-Precipitated Calcium Carbonate

Journal Article · Fri Oct 11 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Scientific Reports

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-51133-9· OSTI ID:1572267

Heveran, Chelsea M. ^[1]; Liang, Liya ^[1]; Nagarajan, Aparna ^[1]; Hubler, Mija H. ^[1]; Gill, Ryan ^[1]; Cameron, Jeffrey C. ^[2]; ^[1]; ^[1]

Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)
Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States); National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

We demonstrate for the first time that the morphology and nanomechanical properties of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) can be tailored by modulating the precipitation kinetics of ureolytic microorganisms through genetic engineering. Many engineering applications employ microorganisms to produce CaCO₃. However, control over bacterial calcite morphology and material properties has not been demonstrated. We hypothesized that microorganisms genetically engineered for low urease activity would achieve larger calcite crystals with higher moduli. We compared precipitation kinetics, morphology, and nanomechanical properties for biogenic CaCO₃ produced by two Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains that were engineered to display either high or low urease activity and the native producer Sporosarcina pasteurii. While all three microorganisms produced calcite, lower urease activity was associated with both slower initial calcium depletion rate and increased average calcite crystal size. Both calcite crystal size and nanoindentation moduli were also significantly higher for the low-urease activity E. coli compared with the high-urease activity E. coli. The relative resistance to inelastic deformation, measured via the ratio of nanoindentation hardness to modulus, was similar across microorganisms. These findings may enable design of novel advanced engineering materials where modulus is tailored to the application while resistance to irreversible deformation is not compromised.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1572267

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA--2700-75264

Journal Information:: Scientific Reports, Journal Name: Scientific Reports Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 9; ISSN 2045-2322

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
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Engineered Ureolytic Microorganisms Can Tailor the Morphology and Nanomechanical Properties of Microbial-Precipitated Calcium Carbonate

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