Bacillus mucilaginosus has already been proved to be capable of degrading silicateminerals, but it is not very clear about the molecular mechanisms of bacterial mineral weathering. To understand the relationship between bacterial weathering of minerals and bacterial secreted proteins, B. mucilaginosus was chosen to study the expression of its extracellular proteins in the process of weathering potassium minerals. This article reveals that certain secreted proteins, related to weathering of potassium minerals, can be induced under conditions such as bacterial nutritional deficiency and the existence of K-bearing rock powders. This suggests direct evidence of the metabolic changes of extracellular enzymes in bacteria during the process of weathering of potassium minerals. It was speculated that these secreted proteins, together with extracellular polymers like polysaccharides, may accelerate the weathering of potassium minerals, resulting in the release of K+ needed for the bacterial growth.

Publication name	GEOMICROBIOLOGY JOURNAL　Volume: 29 　Issue: 6 　Pages: 497-505　 Published: 2012
Author(s)	Xiao, Bo; Lian, Bin; Shao, Weilan
Corresponding author	LIAN Bin  bin2368@vip.163.com  Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Geochem, State Key Lab Environm Geochem, Guanshui Rd 46, Guiyang 550002, Peoples R China

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