Manganese Oxide Biomineralization Provides Protection against Nitrite Toxicity in a Cell-Density-Dependent Manner

Manganese biomineralization is a widespread process among bacteria and fungi. To date, there is no conclusive experimental evidence for how and if this process impacts microbial fitness in the environment. Here, we show how a model organism for manganese oxidation is growth inhibited by nitrite, and that this inhibition is mitigated in the presence of manganese. We show that such manganese-mediated mitigation of nitrite inhibition is dependent on the culture inoculum size, and that manganese oxide (MnO