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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2003, p. 6165-6173, Vol. 69, No. 10
0099-2240/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.10.6165-6173.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Immobilization of Arsenite and Ferric Iron by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Its Relevance to Acid Mine Drainage

K. Duquesne,1 S. Lebrun,2 C. Casiot,3 O. Bruneel,3 J.-C. Personné,3 M. Leblanc,3 F. Elbaz-Poulichet,3 G. Morin,2 and V. Bonnefoy1*

Laboratoire de Chimie Bactérienne, Institut de Biologie Structurale et de Microbiologie, C.N.R.S., UPR9043, Marseille,1 Laboratoire Hydrosciences, Institut des Sciences de la Terre, de l'Eau et de l'Espace de Montpellier, C.N.R.S., UMR5569, Montpellier,3 Laboratoire de Minéralogie et Cristallographie de Paris, UMR 7590 CNRS-UP 6&7-IPGP, Paris, France2

Received 22 January 2003/ Accepted 24 June 2003

Weathering of the As-rich pyrite-rich tailings of the abandoned mining site of Carnoulès (southeastern France) results in the formation of acid waters heavily loaded with arsenic. Dissolved arsenic present in the seepage waters precipitates within a few meters from the bottom of the tailing dam in the presence of microorganisms. An Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans strain, referred to as CC1, was isolated from the effluents. This strain was able to remove arsenic from a defined synthetic medium only when grown on ferrous iron. This A. ferrooxidans strain did not oxidize arsenite to arsenate directly or indirectly. Strain CC1 precipitated arsenic unexpectedly as arsenite but not arsenate, with ferric iron produced by its energy metabolism. Furthermore, arsenite was almost not found adsorbed on jarosite but associated with a poorly ordered schwertmannite. Arsenate is known to efficiently precipitate with ferric iron and sulfate in the form of more or less ordered schwertmannite, depending on the sulfur-to-arsenic ratio. Our data demonstrate that the coprecipitation of arsenite with schwertmannite also appears as a potential mechanism of arsenite removal in heavily contaminated acid waters. The removal of arsenite by coprecipitation with ferric iron appears to be a common property of the A. ferrooxidans species, as such a feature was observed with one private and three collection strains, one of which was the type strain.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratoire de Chimie Bactérienne, Institut de Biologie Structurale et de Microbiologie, C.N.R.S., 31 chemin Joseph Aiguier, 13402 Marseille Cedex 20, France. Phone: 33 (0)491 164 146. Fax: 33 (0)491 718 914. E-mail: bonnefoy{at}ibsm.cnrs-mrs.fr.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2003, p. 6165-6173, Vol. 69, No. 10
0099-2240/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.10.6165-6173.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Morin, G., Rousse, G., Elkaim, E. (2007). Crystal structure of tooeleite, Fe6(AsO3)4SO4(OH)4{middle dot}4H2O, a new iron arsenite oxyhydroxy-sulfate mineral relevant to acid mine drainage. American Mineralogist 92: 193-197 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Morin, G., Calas, G. (2006). Arsenic in Soils, Mine Tailings, and Former Industrial Sites. ELEMENTS 2: 97-101 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Bruneel, O., Duran, R., Casiot, C., Elbaz-Poulichet, F., Personne, J.-C. (2006). Diversity of Microorganisms in Fe-As-Rich Acid Mine Drainage Waters of Carnoules, France. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 551-556 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Bruscella, P., Cassagnaud, L., Ratouchniak, J., Brasseur, G., Lojou, E., Amils, R., Bonnefoy, V. (2005). The HiPIP from the acidophilic Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans is correctly processed and translocated in Escherichia coli, in spite of the periplasm pH difference between these two micro-organisms. Microbiology 151: 1421-1431 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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