Minerals in Bacterial Mats from the Transbaikalia Mud-Volcanic Deposits

The necessary condition of mineral genesis-is rather high level of geo chemical accumulation by bacterial communities from the water not only the more important for life chemical elements (C, H, N, S, P and Cl) and necessary for life components: ions Na, K, Ca, Mg, transition ((Fe, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn at al.) and precious metals, lantanoids in biochemical classifications, also referred to biophily elements. Cooperative interaction of various types and groups microorganisms, making local oxidizing and alkaline geochemical barriers provides selective character of chemical elements bioaccumulation processes from water medium. Normally, high content starting level of micro-components in waters of alkaline mineral sources, soda and salt lakes quite meets the need of bacteria in the transition metals. In case of latter deficit in water, the resource of these elements are the enriched by them the rests of water and ground vegetation, decomposed and oxidized by bacteria-destructors (saprophytes and cellulitics).

Water medium of the Transbaikalia mud-volcanic origin -a bacterial communities habitat is represented by griffon ground and underwater lightly mineralized (fresh) and mineral resources and lakes of the different mineralization (M) degree, the alkalinity.
Our research covered a variety of aquatic ecosystems objects of mud volcanoes (Figure 1), the purpose of which is the study of bacterial mineral formation processes, of element composition, of crystallization mechanisms and conditions, of separate micro -and nano-minerals, their associations [1,2]. The most attention was paid to mineral phase diagnostics, formed by micro-elements available in rather small concentrations in water, but necessary for life: transition metals (Mn, Fe, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn and other) [3,4] as well as related to biophily, the lanthanides, noble metals and other elements in the periodic table [5,6]. Discovered mineral phases belong to group of meta-biogenic minerals [2] so as they were fixed under an electron microscope in dried biomats fragments, i.e. in the dead bacterial mass. On the one hand, they can substitute, recrystallize orthobiogenic phases, inheriting living organisms protein crystals forms, and on the other handbe manifested on geochemical barriers by accumulating on living and dead biofilms, individual mats fragments.     Table 1 shows the characteristic bio-minerals associations, generated by bacterial communities functioning in the waters

Modern Applications of Bioequivalence & Bioavailability
In the low mineralized lake Kuliniye swamps with high temperature underwater springs (Table 2), unlike aquatic media formed by ground resources, among native elements, formed by bacteria, the leading position is occupied by the noble metals, sulfides Sn, Ag, Bi appear and the intermetallic compounds Cu-Sb too.
The crystallization of the noble metal particles is also associated with the cyanobacterial mats of the salt lake Hilganta, but the formation of the above-mentioned sulphides is not seen. The bacterial minerals are related in particular group ( Figure  5), formed in ground conical structures of actual mud microvolcanoes during the small portions ejection of a gas-water pulp. Table 3: Micro-and nanomineral associations in bacterial communities films and mats of resource Hoyto-Gol.

Functional Groups Of Bacterial Communities Featured Micro-and Nanominerals Associations
Sulfur bacteria (Т=33.5 оС, рН=7.5) The native S, Si, Ni, and Al, intermetallic compounds Fe-Cr-Ni, Cr- On the example of the resource Hoyto-Gol bacterial communities it is established that ( Table 3) the different functional micro-organism groups have not similar ability for mineral formation. Cooperative interaction of various microorganism kinds and groups, making local alkaline and oxidative geochemical barriers, provides selective nature of chemical elements bioaccumulation processes from the water medium. Typically, a high initial level of micro-component contents in the alkaline waters of mineral springs, soda and salt lakes, meets the bacteria need in the transition metals. In case of latter deficit in the water the source of these elements are the enriched with them remains of water and ground vegetation, decomposed and oxidized by bacteria-destructors (saprophytes and cellulitics). Bacteria-the organic matter destructors, create a favorable environment for bacteria life support of other functional groups (resource Hoyto-Gol), making available to absorb trace components extracted from the phytomass.

Research Objects Mineral Associations
Resource The most important factor of micro-and nanominerals crystallization in bacterial mats -is an evaporative geochemical barrier. In the course of drying, the bacteria, to survive, deliberate themselves from elements-catalysts (transition, partially noble metals) converting them into mineral form of native elements, intermetallic compounds (Fe-Cr-Ni, Cr-Ni, Cr-Cu, Cu-Zn, Zn-Sn, Cu-Sn), oxides, sulphides, carbonates and sulfates (wustite, hematite, magnetite, ilmenite, powellite, cassiterite, sphalerite, Galena, pyrite, covellite, malachite, zinkosite etc.). Elements -catalysts ions, initially in varying degrees, are accumulated primarily by polymer macromolecules of proteins, nucleic acids and polysaccharides, being a part of bio-organic crystals.
The latter one, in the dehydration process, is transformed into mineral solid crystalline phases, which use structured biogenic organic matrix as samples and "patterns" [1].
Most part of Au, Ag, Pt, Pd in dried bacterial films is in the form of organometallic compounds and only 10-15% is in the form of native elements and intermetallic compounds. The most widely spread in the dried bacterial mats and films are quartz, carbonates, Ca, Fe, Mg and Mn, sulphates (Fe, Ba, etc.) and chlorides, the quantitative ratio of which is determined by macro-components content values in the microorganisms water habitat.  Mud volcanic feature of the Transbaikalia aquatic ecosystems is their participation in gas-oil fluids formation, creating an ecologically extreme environments for the existence of bacterial biocenoses (communities) and often leading to death, in particular, microorganisms combustion, their biomass transformation into crystalline carbon. In areas of bacterial mats crossing by microchannels, through which the gas-oil fluids enter due to thermal transformation of living matter, releasing from it and also additional supply by the fluids of many micro-components, the specific micro -and nanomineral, fluidcombustion metamorphic association, represented with native elements (Fe, Au, Ag, Cu, Zn, S, graphite), intermetallics (Ni-Cu, Fe-Cr-Ni, Fe-La-Ce-Si, Ce-La-Nd-Pr), cogenite and other minerals are formed (Table 4, Figure 6-8).