Draft Genome Sequence of the Novel, Moderately Thermophilic, Iron- and Sulfur-Oxidizing Firmicute Strain Y002, Isolated from an Extremely Acidic Geothermal Environment.

We report the draft genome sequence of the Firmicute strain Y002, a facultatively anaerobic, acidophilic bacterium that catalyzes the dissimilatory oxidation of iron and sulfur and the reduction of ferric iron. Analysis of the genome (2.9 Mb; G+C content, 46 mol%) provided insights into its ability to grow in extremely acidic geothermal environments.

Characteristics of an Iron-Reducing, Moderately Acidophilic Actinobacterium Isolated from Pyritic Mine Waste, and Its Potential Role in Mitigating Mineral Dissolution in Mineral Tailings Deposits.

Reactive pyritic mine tailings can be populated by chemolithotrophic prokaryotes that enhance the solubilities of many metals, though iron-reducing heterotrophic microorganisms can inhibit the environmental risk posed by tailings by promoting processes that are the reverse of those carried out by pyrite-oxidising autotrophic bacteria. A strain (IT2) of Curtobacterium ammoniigenes, a bacterium not previously identified as being associated with acidic mine wastes, was isolated from pyritic mine tailings and partially characterized. Strain IT2 was able to reduce ferric iron under anaerobic conditions, but was not found to catalyse the oxidation of ferrous iron or elemental (zero-valent) sulfur, and was an obligate heterotrophic. It metabolized monosaccharides and required small amounts of yeast extract for growth. Isolate IT2 is a mesophilic bacterium, with a temperature growth optimum of 30 °C and is moderately acidophilic, growing optimally at pH 4.0 and between pH 2.7 and 5.0. The isolate tolerated elevated concentrations of many transition metals, and was able to grow in the cell-free spent medium of the acidophilic autotroph Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, supporting the hypothesis that it can proliferate in acidic mine tailings. Its potential role in mitigating the production of acidic, metal-rich drainage waters from mine wastes is discussed.

Acidiferrimicrobium australe gen. nov., sp. nov., an acidophilic and obligately heterotrophic, member of the Actinobacteria that catalyses dissimilatory oxido-reduction of iron isolated from metal-rich acidic water in Chile.

A novel acidophilic member of the phylum Actinobacteria was isolated from an acidic, metal-contaminated stream draining from an abandoned underground coal mine (Trongol mine), situated close to Curanilahue, Biobío Region, Chile. The isolate (USS-CCA1T) was demonstrated to be a heterotroph that catalysed under aerobic conditions the oxidation of ferrous iron and the reduction of ferric iron under anaerobic conditions, but not the oxidation of sulfur nor hydrogen. USS-CCA1T is a Gram-positive, motile, short rod-shaped, mesophilic bacterium with a temperature growth optimum at 30 °C (range 20-39 °C). It was categorized as an extreme acidophile growing between 1.7 and 4.5 and optimally at pH 3.0. The G+C content of the chromosomal DNA of the isolate was 74.1 mol%, which is highly related to Aciditerrimonas ferrireducens IC-180T , (the most closely related genus; 94.4 % 16S rRNA gene identity), and higher than other acidophilic actinobacteria. The isolate (USS-CCA1T) was shown to form a distinct 16S rRNA clade from characterized acidophilic actinobacteria, well separated from the genera Acidimicrobium, Ferrimicrobium, Ferrithrix, 'Acidithrix' and Aciditerrimonas. Genomic indexes (ANIb, DDH, AAI, POCP) derived from the USS-CCA1T draft genome sequence (deposited at DDBJ/ENA/GenBank under the accession WJHE00000000) support assignment of the isolate to a new species and a new genus within the Acidimicrobiaceae family. Isolate USS-CCA1T is the designated type strain of the novel species Acidiferrimicrobium australe (=DSM 106828T,=RGM 2506T).

Draft Genome Sequence of a Novel Acidophilic Iron-Oxidizing Firmicutes Species, "Acidibacillus ferrooxidans" (SLC66T).

Here, we present the draft genome sequence of the type strain of "Acidibacillus ferrooxidans," a mesophilic, heterotrophic, and acidophilic bacterium that was isolated from mine spoilage subjected to accelerated weathering in humidity cell tests carried out by the former U.S. Bureau of Mines in Salt Lake City, UT.

Anaerobic sulfur metabolism coupled to dissimilatory iron reduction in the extremophile Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans.

Gene transcription (microarrays) and protein levels (proteomics) were compared in cultures of the acidophilic chemolithotroph Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans grown on elemental sulfur as the electron donor under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, using either molecular oxygen or ferric iron as the electron acceptor, respectively. No evidence supporting the role of either tetrathionate hydrolase or arsenic reductase in mediating the transfer of electrons to ferric iron (as suggested by previous studies) was obtained. In addition, no novel ferric iron reductase was identified. However, data suggested that sulfur was disproportionated under anaerobic conditions, forming hydrogen sulfide via sulfur reductase and sulfate via heterodisulfide reductase and ATP sulfurylase. Supporting physiological evidence for H2S production came from the observation that soluble Cu(2+) included in anaerobically incubated cultures was precipitated (seemingly as CuS). Since H(2)S reduces ferric iron to ferrous in acidic medium, its production under anaerobic conditions indicates that anaerobic iron reduction is mediated, at least in part, by an indirect mechanism. Evidence was obtained for an alternative model implicating the transfer of electrons from S(0) to Fe(3+) via a respiratory chain that includes a bc(1) complex and a cytochrome c. Central carbon pathways were upregulated under aerobic conditions, correlating with higher growth rates, while many Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle components were upregulated during anaerobic growth, probably as a result of more limited access to carbon dioxide. These results are important for understanding the role of A. ferrooxidans in environmental biogeochemical metal cycling and in industrial bioleaching operations.

Production of glycolic acid by chemolithotrophic iron- and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria and its role in delineating and sustaining acidophilic sulfide mineral-oxidizing consortia.

Glycolic acid was detected as an exudate in actively growing cultures of three chemolithotrophic acidophiles that are important in biomining operations, Leptospirillum ferriphilum, Acidithiobacillus (At.) ferrooxidans, and At. caldus. Although similar concentrations of glycolic acid were found in all cases, the concentrations corresponded to ca. 24% of the total dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in cultures of L. ferriphilum but only ca. 5% of the total DOC in cultures of the two Acidithiobacillus spp. Rapid acidification (to pH 1.0) of the culture medium of At. caldus resulted in a large increase in the level of DOC, although the concentration of glycolic acid did not change in proportion. The archaeon Ferroplasma acidiphilum grew in the cell-free spent medium of At. caldus; glycolic acid was not metabolized, although other unidentified compounds in the DOC pool were metabolized. Glycolic acid exhibited levels of toxicity with 21 strains of acidophiles screened similar to those of acetic acid. The most sensitive species were chemolithotrophs (L. ferriphilum and At. ferrivorans), while the most tolerant species were chemoorganotrophs (Acidocella, Acidobacterium, and Ferroplasma species), and the ability to metabolize glycolic acid appeared to be restricted (among acidophiles) to Firmicutes (chiefly Sulfobacillus spp.). Results of this study help explain why Sulfobacillus spp. rather than other acidophiles are the main organic carbon-degrading bacteria in continuously fed stirred tanks used to bioprocess sulfide mineral concentrates and also why temporary cessation of pH control in these systems, resulting in rapid acidification, often results in a plume of the archaeon Ferroplasma.