Russian scientists shed light on how bacteria made soil from volcanic rocks on the dawn of our history.
      
      In the beginning there were rocks, water, and bacteria, which turned those rocks into soil. Science still knows little about mechanisms of these processes. Scientists from Moscow worked with purple non-sulfur bacterium Rhodovulvum, which dwell in a soda lake. These organisms were grown in liquid nutrient media with addition of volcanic ash without oxygen.
      
      Volcanic ash stimulated bacterial growth, moreover, bacteria concentrated their metal-rich metabolites in it. Scientists concluded that anaerobic organisms have participated in formation of Mg-containing silicates and organo-mineral complexes, which are the basis of soils.
      
      Source: Science News