This work aimed to examine the bioleaching of manganese oxides at various oxidation states (MnO, MnO·Mn2O3, Mn2O3 and MnO2) by a strain of the filamentous fungus Aspergillus niger, a frequent soil representative. Our results showed that the fungus effectively disintegrated the crystal structure of selected mineral manganese phases. Thereby, during a 31-day static incubation of oxides in the presence of fungus, manganese was bioextracted into the culture medium and, in some cases, transformed into a new biogenic mineral. The latter resulted from the precipitation of extracted manganese with biogenic oxalate. The Mn(II,III)-oxide was the most susceptible to fungal biodeterioration, and up to 26% of the manganese content in oxide was extracted by the fungus into the medium. The detected variabilities in biogenic oxalate and gluconate accumulation in the medium are also discussed regarding the fungal sensitivity to manganese. These suggest an alternative pathway of manganese oxides' biodeterioration via a reductive dissolution. There, the oxalate metabolites are consumed as the reductive agents. Our results highlight the significance of fungal activity in manganese mobilization and transformation. The soil fungi should be considered an important geoactive agent that affects the stability of natural geochemical barriers.

Department of Environment and Energy Jeonbuk National University Jeonju si 54896 Korea

Department of Mineral Resources and Energy Engineering Jeonbuk National University Jeonju si 54896 Korea

Department of Nuclear Reactors Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering Czech Technical University Prague 5 Holešovičkách 2 18000 Prague Czech Republic

Department of Public Health Faculty of Medicine Masaryk University Kamenice 753 5 62500 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Soil Science and Soil Protection Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Kamýcká 129 16500 Praha Suchdol Czech Republic

Institute of Laboratory Research on Geomaterials Faculty of Natural Sciences Comenius University in Bratislava Mlynská Dolina Ilkovičova 6 842 15 Bratislava Slovakia

Institute of Molecular Biology Slovak Academy of Sciences Dúbravská Cesta 21 845 51 Bratislava Slovakia

Polymer Institute Slovak Academy of Sciences Dúbravská Cesta 9 845 41 Bratislava Slovakia

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