Papers by Keyword: Copper Resistance

Abstract: The presence in At. ferrooxidans of canonical copper resistance determinants does not explain the extremely high copper concentrations this microorganism is able to tolerate. This suggests that At. ferrooxidans may have additional copper resistance mechanisms. New possible copper resistance determinants were searched by using 2D-PAGE and real time PCR (qRT-PCR). Results showed the up-regulation of RND-type Cus systems and different RND-type efflux pumps in At. ferrooxidans grown in the presence of copper, suggesting that these proteins may be implied in resistance to this metal. Furthermore, the up-regulation of putative periplasmatic disulfide isomerases was also seen in the presence of copper. These proteins are most likely involved in the formation and rearrangement of disulfide bonds in proteins in the periplasm. Copper ions catalyze the formation of incorrect disulfide bonds in proteins. However, the up-regulated disulfide isomerases found could restore native disufide bonds allowing cell survival. In conclusion, At. ferrooxidans may resist high copper concentrations by using additional copper resistance strategies in which cell envelope proteins are very important. This knowledge could be used to select the best fit members of the bioleaching community to attain more efficient industrial biomining processes.

Abstract: Extremophiles such as the acidophilic Sulfolobus metallicus (Archaea) and Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (Bacteria) can resist Cu (CuSO4) concentrations of 200 mM and 800 mM respectively. These microorganisms are important in biomining processes to extract copper and other metals. A. ferrooxidans grown at low Cu concentrations (5 mM) expressed genes coding for ATPases most likely involved in pumping the metal from the cytoplasm to the periplasm of the bacterium. At 100 mM Cu the previous systems were repressed and there was a great induction in the expression of efflux systems known to use the proton motive force energy to export the metal outside the cell. These Cu-resistance determinants from A. ferrooxidans were found to be functional since when expressed in Escherichia coli they conferred higher Cu tolerance to it. Novel Cu-resistance determinants for A. ferrooxidans were found and characterized. S. metallicus possessed at least 2 CopM metallochaperones and 2 CopA ATPases whose expressions were induced by Cu (5 to 50 mM). Furthermore, we previously reported that both microorganisms accumulate high levels of inorganic polyphosphate (PolyP) and that intracellular Cu concentration stimulates polyP hydrolysis. The resulting Pi would then be transported out of the cell as a metal-Pi complex to detoxify the cells. In addition, our results suggest that at high Cu concentrations polyP could also provide energy for the metal efflux. All the data suggest that both biomining microorganisms use different systems to respond to Cu depending on the extracellular concentrations of the metal and suggest that the presence of different additional systems to respond to Cu may explain the extremely high metal resistance of these extremophiles.