BIOGENIC SYNTHESIS OF IMPORTANT ENVIRONMENTAL MINERALS: MAGNESIUM PHOSPHATE COMPOUNDS AND PERSPECTIVES

The ecological processes in which metabolites with industrial or medical applications are produced are of great importance. Magnesium plays many important roles in environmental and medical applications. Phosphorus is obtained by mining. It is estimated to have a very limited half-life and expected to be depleted as a resource in 100 years. Its recovery by mining and subsequent marketing as phosphate has important environmental implications. These processes are part of an important recovery technology. Bacteria have contributed to the formation of minerals since the advent of life on Earth. Bacterial and/or fungal biomineralizations play a critical role in biogeochemical cycles. These processes have important technological and environmental applications. In many past publications dealing with bacterial and fungal recovery of phosphates as insoluble products, magnesium played an important role. This is a review of recent progress in the microbial recovery of biogenic magnesium phosphate compounds, their importance, and their roles in treatment of several human diseases.