Ferrous iron oxidation and rusticyanin in halotolerant, acidophilic 'Thiobacillus prosperus'.
The halotolerant acidophile 'Thiobacillus prosperus' was shown to require chloride for growth. With ferrous iron as substrate, growth occurred at a rate similar to that of the well-studied acidophile Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans. Previously, the salt (NaCl) requirement of 'T. prosperus' was not clear and its growth on ferrous iron was described as poor. A subtractive hybridization of cDNAs from ferrous-iron-grown and sulfur-grown 'T. prosperus' strain V6 led to identification of a cluster of genes similar to the rus operon reported to encode ferrous iron oxidation in A. ferrooxidans. However, the 'T. prosperus' gene cluster did not contain a homologue of cyc1, which is thought to encode a key cytochrome c in the pathway of electron transport from ferrous iron in A. ferrooxidans. Rusticyanin, another key protein in ferrous iron oxidation by A. ferrooxidans, was present in 'T. prosperus' at similar concentrations in cells grown on either ferrous iron or sulfur.
Nicolle
James Le C
JLC
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK.
Simmons
Susan
S
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK.
Bathe
Stephan
S
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK.
Norris
Paul R
PR
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK.