Structure analysis of 16S rDNA sequences from strains of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans

Four strains of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans with different iron oxidation capacity were isolated from different mine drainage stations. The 16S rRNA gene of these strains were cloned and sequenced. Based on our sequences analysis on the four strain and the data on the other strains deposited in Genbank, all A. ferrooxidans may be classified into three phylogenetic groups. The analysis data showed that nucleotide variables (signature sites) were detected in 21 positions, and most of them were found in the first 800 bp from 5' terminal except position 970 and 1375. Interestingly, the first 13 signature sites were located in two main regions: the first region (position 175-234) located in V2 while the second region (position 390-439) were detected in constant region between V2 and V3. Furthermore, the secondary structure and minimal free energy were determined in two regions among strains of three groups. These results may be useful in characterizing the microevolutionary mechanisms of species formation and monitoring in biohydrometallurgical application.