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Previous work showed the cryptoendolithic microbial communities of the Colorado Plateau act to harden the surfaces of Jurassic Navajo Sandstone outcrops via the production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). It is our hypothesis that EPS produced in these systems serve to trap ions and maintain hydration. EPS isolated from in vitro and in vivo biofilms bind 200-600 nmol of ferrous iron per 10 g of biofilm sample. Initial characterizations of the EPS used preparations from two distinct microbial cultures grown in semi-submerged conditions with EPS harvested from approximately one-half of each culture immediately, the remaining biofilm was allowed to dry before the EPS was harvested. Analysis of ferrous iron binding of the four preparations showed that the culture dominated with non-filamentous cells only produced a chelating moiety after desiccation. Conversely, the second culture dominated by filamentous cells produced a ferrous iron binding activity when semi-submerged. Biochemical characterization showed that the extracted EPS was acidic, containing 37% uronic acid. Neither the EPS nor the biofilms had the ability to retain water though an increase in the rate of water loss was noted. We conclude that EPS produced by these communities are involved in nutrient capture as well as stabilization. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.