Abstract
Bacteria that bring about dissimilatory transformations of iron are important from both biogeochemical and industrial perspectives (Ehrlich and Brierley, 1990; Johnson, 1995). The oxido-reduction of iron in extremely acidic (pH > 3) environments is particularly interesting because of the greater solubility of ionic (particularly ferric) iron and the relative stability of soluble ferrous iron under these conditions. Acidophilic iron-oxidizing bacteria are generally considered the most significant microorganisms in the biological processing of sulfide ores (“biomining”) in which the accelerated oxidative dissolution of sulfidic minerals (e.g., pyrite, arsenopyrite, and chalcopyrite) solubilizes (e.g., copper) or releases (refractory gold) metals, thereby facilitating their recovery (Rawlings and Silver, 1995). Most research into bacterial iron transformations at low pH has focused on mesophilic chemolithotrophs, particularly Thiobacillus ferrooxidans, though a number of physiologically and phenotypically diverse mesophilic acidophiles, it is now known, are involved in the dissimilatory oxido-reduction of iron (Johnson, 1995; Norris and Johnson, 1997; Pronk and Johnson, 1992).
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Johnson, D.B., Body, D.A., Bridge, T.A.M., Bruhn, D.F., Roberto, F.F. (2001). Biodiversity of Acidophilic Moderate Thermophiles Isolated from Two Sites in Yellowstone National Park and Their Roles in the Dissimilatory Oxido-Reduction of Iron. In: Reysenbach, AL., Voytek, M., Mancinelli, R. (eds) Thermophiles Biodiversity, Ecology, and Evolution. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1197-7_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1197-7_3
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