Chemolithotrophic bacteria in copper ores leached at high sulfuric Acid concentration

Extensive bacterial growth was observed when copper sulfide ores were leached with 0.6 N sulfuric acid. The bacterial population developed in this condition was examined by characterization of the spacer regions between the 16S and 23S rRNA genetic loci obtained after PCR amplification of the DNA extracted from the leached ore. The spacers observed had the sizes found in strains of "Leptospirillum ferrooxidans" and Thiobacillus thiooxidans, except for a larger one, approximately 560 bp long, that was not observed in any of the strains examined, including those of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans. The bacteria with this last spacer were selected after culturing in mineral and elemental sulfur media containing 0.7 N sulfuric acid. The spacer and the 16S ribosomal DNA of this isolate were sequenced and compared with those in species commonly found in bioleaching processes. Though the nucleotide sequence of the spacer showed an extensive heterologous region with T. thiooxidans, the sequence of its 16S rDNA gene indicated a close relationship (99.85%) with this species. These results indicate that a population comprised of bacterial strains closely related to T. thiooxidans and of another strain, possibly related to "L. ferrooxidans," can develop during leaching at high sulfuric acid concentration. Iron oxidation in this condition is attributable to "L. ferrooxidans" and not T. ferrooxidans, based on the presence of spacers with the "L. ferrooxidans" size range and the absence of spacers characteristic of T. ferrooxidans.