Dissimilatory Iron Reduction

Dissimilatory Fe(III) reduction is the microbial metabolism in which organic or inorganic electron donors are oxidized with Fe(III) serving as the terminal electron acceptor. Fe(III) is reduced to Fe(II). This form of microbial respiration is one of the most geochemically significant processes in aquatic sediments, submerged soils, and aquifers (Lovley, 1991; Nealson and Saffarini, 1994; Lovley, 1995b; Lovley and Chapelle, 1995). However, it has only been within the last decade that the importance of dissimilatory Fe(III) reduction has been recognized.