The aim of this work was to evaluate the transformation of manganese oxide (hausmannite) by microscopic filamentous fungus Aspergillus niger and the effects of the transformation on mobility and bioavailability of arsenic. Our results showed that the A. niger strain CBS 140837 greatly affected the stability of hausmannite and induced its transformation into biogenic crystals of manganese oxalates-falottaite and lindbergite. The transformation was enabled by fungal acidolysis of hausmannite and subsequent release of manganese ions into the culture medium. While almost 45% of manganese was bioextracted, the arsenic content in manganese precipitates increased throughout the 25-day static cultivation of fungus. This significantly decreased the bioavailability of arsenic for the fungus. These results highlight the unique A. niger strain's ability to act as an active geochemical factor via its ability to acidify its environment and to induce formation of biogenic minerals. This affects not only the manganese speciation, but also bioaccumulation of potentially toxic metals and metalloids associated with manganese oxides, including arsenic.

Department of Chemistry Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies AP IIIT Nuzvid 521202 India

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Montclair State University Montclair NJ 07043 USA

Department of Mechanical Engineering Bapatla Engineering College Bapatla 522101 India

Department of Mineral Resources and Energy Engineering Jeonbuk National University 567 Baekje daero Deokjin gu Jeonju Jeonbuk 54896 Korea

Department of Soil Science and Geology Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra 949 76 Nitra Slovakia

Institute of Electrical Engineering Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava 84104 Bratislava Slovakia

Institute of Laboratory Research on Geomaterials Faculty of Natural Sciences Comenius University in Bratislava 84215 Bratislava Slovakia

Institute of Measurement Science Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava 84104 Bratislava Slovakia

Nanotechnology Centre VŠB Technical University of Ostrava 70833 Ostrava Czech Republic

School of Ecology and Environmental Science Yunnan University Kunming 650091 China

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