The important implications of these results are that oxygen
isotopic composition of low-temperature magnetite can not be
directly used as a biosignature and that the solution chemistry
used in this study for inorganic precipitation is relevant to
better understanding of magnetite precipitation in bacterial
magnetosomes, which might thus be characterized by high
saturation states and pH. It would therefore be of great interest
to be able to measure actual pH and TIC within bacterial
magnetosomes or close to cellular surfaces of bacteria producing
magnetites extracellularly, and to compare those measurements
with the reference abiotic and inorganic results of the
present study.