title: Monitoring bacterial community shifts in bioleaching of Ni-Cu sulfide.
abstract: The microbial ecology of the bioleaching of Ni-Cu sulfide is poorly understood and little effort has been made to handle the microbiological components of these processes. In this study, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of PCR-amplified 16S rRNA genes fragments from bacteria was used to evaluate the changes of the bacterial community in the process of Ni-Cu sulfide bioleaching in a shaken flask system. The results revealed that the bacterial community was disturbed after the addition of Ni-Cu sulfide. Phylogenetic analyses of 16S rRNA fragments revealed that the retrieved sequences clustered together with the genera Acidithiobacillus and Leptospirillum. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) and cluster analysis of DGGE-banding patterns revealed that the process of Ni-Cu sulfide bioleaching in 46days was divided into three stages. During the bioleaching process of Ni-Cu sulfide, Leptospirillum was always dominant. The genera Acidithiobacillus was only detected at early and later stages of the bioleaching process. These results extend our knowledge on microbial dynamics in Ni-Cu sulfide bioleaching, a key issue required to improve commercial applications.
authors.affiliation: School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China. hzg78@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Zhiguo
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Jiancun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Fengling
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Yuehua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Guanzhou
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Qiu
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001483:Base Sequence; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D003300:Copper / Q000032:analysis; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007220:Industrial Waste / Q000032:analysis; D007501:Iron / Q000032:analysis; D008906:Mining; D009532:Nickel / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012996:Solutions; D013440:Sulfides / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015032:Zinc / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D007220:Industrial Waste; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012996:Solutions; D013440:Sulfides; D003300:Copper; D009532:Nickel; D007501:Iron; D015032:Zinc