Sporosarcina pasteurii

Sporosarcina pasteurii formerly known as Bacillus pasteurii from older taxonomies, is a bacterium with the ability to precipitate calcite and solidify sand given a calcium source and urea, through the process of microbiologically induced calcite precipitation or biological cementation. S. pasteurii has been proposed to be used as an ecologically sound biological construction material. Architecture student Magnus Larsson won the 2008 Holcim Award 'Next Generation' first prize for region Africa Middle East for his project 'Dune anti-desertification architecture, Sokoto, Nigeria' and his design of a habitable wall. Larssons also presented the proposal at TED. Ginger Krieg Dosier's unique biotechnology start-up company, bioMason, in Raleigh, NC has developed a method of growing bricks from Sporosarcina pasteurii and naturally abundant materials. In 2013 this company won the Cradle to Cradle Innovation Challenge (which included a prize of $125,000) and the Dutch Postcode Lottery Green Challenge (which included a prize of 500,000 euros). Another potential application is to solidify liquefiable soils in areas prone to earthquakes.