Evolutionary Role of Iron in Metabolism of Prokaryotes and in Biogeochemical Processes

The paper reviews data summarizing points of view about the "conceptual" role of iron in the appearance and evolutionary formation of the Earth and its biosphere. Participation of iron and its compounds in the appearance and development of processes of anaero- and aerobiosis as fundamental "blocks" of metabolism is presented as a hierarchical scheme. Magnetically arrayed iron compounds, in which the element is both in the Fe(II) and in the Fe(III) state, are considered a connecting link between the hierarchical levels. It is shown that the energy transformation Fe(II) Fe(III) is an oxidation-reduction energy core of the most important metabolic iron complexes and of processes of biogenesis both at the cellular level and in biogeosystems.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]