When Burl Ives sang in “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” that “every Christmas tree is decorated with silver and gold,” he probably didn’t know that there was actually gold in the needles of the Christmas tree. But that’s exactly what a new study found.
A study published in the journal Environment Microbiome on August 28 reports that Norway spruce (Picea abies) concentrates gold nanoparticles with the help of resident bacteria.
you may like
These resident bacteria are known as endophytes and are commensal microorganisms that promote hormone production and nutrient absorption, among other functions. In spruce trees, these bacteria separate soluble gold particles, which the tree takes into the water through its roots.
This process is a form of biomineralization, in which living organisms control the formation of minerals in their tissues through a variety of processes. In this case, the endophytic fungi likely concentrated the particles to reduce toxicity.
impressive gold
For the study, researchers examined spruce trees near the Kittila mine in northern Finland, Europe’s largest gold producer. The researchers tested 138 needle samples taken from 23 spruce trees. The needles from four of the trees contained gold nanoparticles.
The nanoparticles were surrounded by biofilms produced by bacterial genera such as P3OB-42, Cutibacterium, and Corynebacterium. These films are polysaccharides (complex sugars) and protein compounds secreted by bacteria that enable their survival within plant tissues.
The close relationship between nanoparticles and bacterial biofilms indicated that bacteria were likely involved in mineral separation. Gold-containing needles had lower bacterial species diversity. Other studies of plants with high concentrations of metals in their tissues have also found reduced microbial biodiversity.
No one would make a fortune by cutting down a spruce tree and distilling the tiny amounts of gold contained in the needles. The particle size is only one millionth of a millimeter. However, uptake of valuable minerals by trees can be a useful indicator of subsurface gold deposits.
“Screening for such bacteria on plant leaves could facilitate gold exploration,” Rehozmar said.
Source link
