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Growth in ever-increasing acidity condition enhanced the adaptation and bioleaching ability of Leptospirillum ferriphilum

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Abstract

Low pH eliminated the jarosite accumulation and improved the interfacial reaction rate during the bioleaching process. However, high acidity tends to make environments less hospitable, even for organisms that live in extreme places, so a great challenge existed for bioleaching at low pH conditions. This study demonstrated that the adaption and bioleaching ability of Leptospirillum ferriphilum could be improved after the long-term adaptive evolution of the community under acidity conditions. It was found that the acidity-adapted strain showed robust ferrous iron oxidation activity in wider pH, high concentration of ferrous iron, and lower temperature. Although the enhancement for heavy metal tolerance was limited, the resistance for MgSO4, Na2SO4, and organic matter was stimulative. More importantly, both pyrite and printed circuit board bioleaching revealed the higher bioleaching ability of the acid-resistant strain. These adaptation and bioleaching details provided an available approach for the improvement of bioleaching techniques.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National key R & D program Task, China (2017YFD0801304) and The Heavy Metal Pollution Control Project of WEEE Dismantling Industry in Qingyuan (Phase II & III)(No. PM-hx020-201610–0309).

the National key R & D program Task,China,2017YFD0801304,Hongbo Zhou,The Heavy Metal Pollution Control Project of WEEE Dismantling Industry in Qingyuan (Phase II & III),No. PM-hx020-201610–0309,Hongbo Zhou

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Changsha, China

    Ronghui Liu & Hongbo Zhou

  2. School of Microelectronic, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China

    Ronghui Liu

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  1. Ronghui Liu
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  2. Hongbo Zhou
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Contributions

RHL carried out the research work and prepared the manuscript. HBZ designed the experiment and performed the manuscript preparation.

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Correspondence to Hongbo Zhou.

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Ronghui Liu and Hongbo Zhou declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Liu, R., Zhou, H. Growth in ever-increasing acidity condition enhanced the adaptation and bioleaching ability of Leptospirillum ferriphilum. Int Microbiol 25, 541–550 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10123-021-00227-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10123-021-00227-4

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