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Appl Environ Microbiol, July 1998, p. 2743-2747, Vol. 64, No. 7
0099-2240/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Importance of Extracellular Polymeric Substances from Thiobacillus ferrooxidans for Bioleaching

Tilman Gehrke,1 Judit Telegdi,2 Dominique Thierry,3 and Wolfgang Sand1,*

Institute for General Botany, Department of Microbiology, University of Hamburg, D-22609 Hamburg, Germany1; Central Research Institute for Chemistry, H-1025 Budapest, Hungary2; and Swedish Corrosion Institute, S-10405 Stockholm, Sweden3

Received 3 September 1997/Accepted 28 April 1998

Leaching bacteria such as Thiobacillus ferrooxidans attach to pyrite or sulfur by means of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) (lipopolysaccharides). The primary attachment to pyrite at pH 2 is mediated by exopolymer-complexed iron(III) ions in an electrochemical interaction with the negatively charged pyrite surface. EPS from sulfur cells possess increased hydrophobic properties and do not attach to pyrite, indicating adaptability to the substrate or substratum.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institut für Allgemeine Botanik, Abteilung für Mikrobiologie, Universität Hamburg, Ohnhorststraße 18, D-22609 Hamburg, Germany. Phone and fax: 040/82282-423. E-mail: FB6a042{at}mikrobiologie.uni-hamburg.de.

Appl Environ Microbiol, July 1998, p. 2743-2747, Vol. 64, No. 7
0099-2240/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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