REE pattern as a signature of bacterial activities

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We found that anomalous enrichment of heavy rare earth elements (REE) was observed in REE distribution patterns on various bacterial species. The enrichment is caused by complexation with multiple phosphate complexes, the contribution of which decreased with the increase in pH due to the larger contribution of carboxylate site. Similar HREE enrichment characteristic was found for REE pattern of biofilm and biogenic iron oxides formed in natural waters and also in Precambrian banded iron oxide formation (BIF). These results showed that HREE enrichment in REE pattern can be a signature of bacterial activities in natural systems and in sedimentary records.