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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 1999, p. 585-590, Vol. 65, No. 2
0099-2240/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Leaching of Pyrite by Acidophilic Heterotrophic Iron-Oxidizing Bacteria in Pure and Mixed Cultures

Paula Bacelar-Nicolau and D. Barrie Johnson*

School of Biological Sciences, University of Wales, Bangor, LL57 2UW, United Kingdom

Received 5 June 1998/Accepted 16 November 1998

Seven strains of heterotrophic iron-oxidizing acidophilic bacteria were examined to determine their abilities to promote oxidative dissolution of pyrite (FeS2) when they were grown in pure cultures and in mixed cultures with sulfur-oxidizing Thiobacillus spp. Only one of the isolates (strain T-24) oxidized pyrite when it was grown in pyrite-basal salts medium. However, when pyrite-containing cultures were supplemented with 0.02% (wt/vol) yeast extract, most of the isolates oxidized pyrite, and one (strain T-24) promoted rates of mineral dissolution similar to the rates observed with the iron-oxidizing autotroph Thiobacillus ferrooxidans. Pyrite oxidation by another isolate (strain T-21) occurred in cultures containing between 0.005 and 0.05% (wt/vol) yeast extract but was completely inhibited in cultures containing 0.5% yeast extract. Ferrous iron was also needed for mineral dissolution by the iron-oxidizing heterotrophs, indicating that these organisms oxidize pyrite via the "indirect" mechanism. Mixed cultures of three isolates (strains T-21, T-23, and T-24) and the sulfur-oxidizing autotroph Thiobacillus thiooxidans promoted pyrite dissolution; since neither strains T-21 and T-23 nor T. thiooxidans could oxidize this mineral in yeast extract-free media, this was a novel example of bacterial synergism. Mixed cultures of strains T-21 and T-23 and the sulfur-oxidizing mixotroph Thiobacillus acidophilus also oxidized pyrite but to a lesser extent than did mixed cultures containing T. thiooxidans. Pyrite leaching by strain T-23 grown in an organic compound-rich medium and incubated either shaken or unshaken was also assessed. The potential environmental significance of iron-oxidizing heterotrophs in accelerating pyrite oxidation is discussed.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: School of Biological Sciences, University of Wales, Bangor, LL57 2UW, United Kingdom. Phone: 44 1248 382358. Fax: 44 1248 370731. E-mail: d.b.johnson{at}bangor.ac.uk.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 1999, p. 585-590, Vol. 65, No. 2
0099-2240/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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