Zirconium has no known essential biological function. The ferric ion binding protein (nFbp) from Neisseria gonorrhoeae can bind clusters of Zr⁴⁺ in solution (Alexeev et al, 2003). Some metal-corroding bacteria were found to accumulate zirconium (Engel et al, 1970). Zirconium was shown to stimulate lactic acid production in Lactobacillus bulgaricus AU (Tiwari et al, 1980).

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Engel WB. Role of metallic ion concentrating microorganisms in the corrosion of metals. Proc Conf Nat Ass Corros Eng., 25th. 1970:588-96.