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Bioleaching in brackish waters—effect of chloride ions on the acidophile population and proteomes of model species

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology volume 93, pages 319–329 (2012)Cite this article

Abstract

High concentrations of chloride ions inhibit the growth of acidophilic microorganisms used in biomining, a problem particularly relevant to Western Australian and Chilean biomining operations. Despite this, little is known about the mechanisms acidophiles adopt in order to tolerate high chloride ion concentrations. This study aimed to investigate the impact of increasing concentrations of chloride ions on the population dynamics of a mixed culture during pyrite bioleaching and apply proteomics to elucidate how two species from this mixed culture alter their proteomes under chloride stress. A mixture consisting of well-known biomining microorganisms and an enrichment culture obtained from an acidic saline drain were tested for their ability to bioleach pyrite in the presence of 0, 3.5, 7, and 20 g L−1 NaCl. Microorganisms from the enrichment culture were found to out-compete the known biomining microorganisms, independent of the chloride ion concentration. The proteomes of the Gram-positive acidophile Acidimicrobium ferrooxidans and the Gram-negative acidophile Acidithiobacillus caldus grown in the presence or absence of chloride ions were investigated. Analysis of differential expression showed that acidophilic microorganisms adopted several changes in their proteomes in the presence of chloride ions, suggesting the following strategies to combat the NaCl stress: adaptation of the cell membrane, the accumulation of amino acids possibly as a form of osmoprotectant, and the expression of a YceI family protein involved in acid and osmotic-related stress.

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Acknowledgements

The authors express their gratitude for financial support from the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet contract number 621-2007-3537) to MD. CZ, LM, HW, and EW would like to thank the support of the Parker CRC for Integrated Hydrometallurgy Solutions (established and supported under the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Program). Additionally, CZ gratefully acknowledges the financial support from the Minerals and Energy Research Institute of Western Australia and Curtin University.

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Author notes

  1. Carla M. Zammit

    Present address: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Curtin University, School of Biomedical Sciences, Parker Centre for Integrated Hydrometallurgy Solutions, GPO Box U1987, Perth 6845, WA, Australia

    Carla M. Zammit, Lesley A. Mutch & Elizabeth L. J. Watkin

  2. Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

    Stefanie Mangold, Venkateswara rao Jonna & Mark Dopson

  3. CSIRO Minerals Down Under Flagship, CSIRO Process Science and Engineering, Parker Centre for Integrated Hydrometallurgy Solutions, PO Box 7229, Karawara 6152, WA, Australia

    Helen R. Watling

  4. School of Natural Sciences, Linnaeus University, 391 82, Kalmar, Sweden

    Mark Dopson

Authors
  1. Carla M. Zammit
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  2. Stefanie Mangold
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  3. Venkateswara rao Jonna
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Correspondence to Elizabeth L. J. Watkin.

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Zammit, C.M., Mangold, S., rao Jonna, V. et al. Bioleaching in brackish waters—effect of chloride ions on the acidophile population and proteomes of model species. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 93, 319–329 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-011-3731-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-011-3731-3

Keywords

  • Biomining
  • Chloride
  • Proteomics
  • Brackish
  • Membrane