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Industrial Bioleaching Reactor Consortium

Ecological State ENGINEERED
Environment bioreactor
ENVO:01000605
Source File Industrial_Bioreactor_Consortium.yaml

An industrial-scale moderately thermophilic acidophilic microbial consortium operating in continuous and batch bioreactors for metal extraction from sulfide ores and concentrates. This consortium represents a unique system with complete genomic characterization of six key organisms: Acidiplasma sp., Acidithiobacillus caldus, Cuniculiplasma divulgatum, Ferroplasma acidiphilum, Ferroplasma sp., and Thermoplasmatales archaeon. The community operates at moderate thermophilic temperatures (40-50°C) and extremely low pH (1.5-2.0), oxidizing ferrous iron and reduced sulfur compounds to generate ferric iron (Fe³⁺) and sulfuric acid for dissolving chalcopyrite (CuFeS₂) and other metal sulfides. Comparative analysis across batch versus continuous reactor modes reveals distinct population dynamics, with Acidithiobacillus caldus dominating early stages (up to 60% at pH >2), Sulfobacillus benefaciens in mid-stages (62-66%), and Ferroplasma thermophilum in late stages (66% under acidic, metal-rich conditions). The adapted consortium achieves exceptional copper extraction of 60.4% from 20% pulp density chalcopyrite concentrate in 25 days, producing 22.90 g/L dissolved copper. Operating under controlled carbon sources (CO₂, molasses) and temperature gradients (40-50°C), this system demonstrates how operational parameters shape microbial community structure and metal recovery efficiency. The availability of six complete reference genomes (PRJNA976529) enables genomic-level investigation of biooxidation mechanisms, making this the most comprehensively characterized industrial bioleaching consortium for biotechnological applications in extractive metallurgy.

Taxonomy

Taxon Ontology ID Functional Roles Abundance
Acidithiobacillus caldus NCBITaxon:33059
PRIMARY_PRODUCER PRIMARY_DEGRADER
DOMINANT
Ferroplasma acidiphilum NCBITaxon:74969
PRIMARY_PRODUCER SYNTROPHIC_PARTNER
DOMINANT
Ferroplasma sp. NCBITaxon:2591003
PRIMARY_PRODUCER SYNTROPHIC_PARTNER
ABUNDANT
Acidiplasma sp. NCBITaxon:1872114
PRIMARY_DEGRADER SYNTROPHIC_PARTNER
ABUNDANT
Cuniculiplasma divulgatum NCBITaxon:1673428
SECONDARY_FERMENTER SYNTROPHIC_PARTNER
ABUNDANT
Thermoplasmatales archaeon NCBITaxon:2268204
PRIMARY_DEGRADER
COMMON
Sulfobacillus benefaciens NCBITaxon:453960
PRIMARY_DEGRADER SYNTROPHIC_PARTNER
DOMINANT
Leptospirillum ferriphilum NCBITaxon:178606
PRIMARY_PRODUCER
RARE

Ecological Interactions

Thermophilic Ferrous Iron Oxidation in Early Reactor Stages

CROSS_FEEDING

Source Taxon: Acidithiobacillus caldus

Metabolites: Fe(II) (CHEBI:29033), Fe(III) (CHEBI:29034)

Biological Processes:

Downstream Effects:
→ Chalcopyrite Dissolution by Ferric Iron

Evidence

  • PMID:24242252 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "The results show that the culture consisted mainly of four species, including Leptospirillum ferriphilum, Acidithiobacillus caldus, Sulfobacillus acidophilus, and Ferroplasma thermophilum, before adapting to a pulp density of 4%"
  • doi:10.1007/s00253-008-1792-8 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "Mutualistic interactions between physiologically distinct moderately thermophilic acidophiles, involving transformations of iron and sulfur and transfer of organic compound, were considered to play a critical role in promoting chalcopyrite dissolution"

Thermophilic Sulfur Oxidation to Sulfuric Acid

MUTUALISM

Source Taxon: Acidithiobacillus caldus

Metabolites: sulfur (CHEBI:26833), sulfuric acid (CHEBI:26836)

Biological Processes:

Evidence

  • doi:10.1007/s13213-019-01453-y - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "Expression of key sulfur oxidation genes during bioleaching of chalcopyrite under thermophilic conditions"

Mid-Stage Mixotrophic Iron Oxidation

CROSS_FEEDING

Source Taxon: Sulfobacillus benefaciens

Metabolites: Fe(II) (CHEBI:29033), Fe(III) (CHEBI:29034), organic molecular entity (CHEBI:50860)

Biological Processes:

Evidence

  • PMID:24242252 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "caldus became the predominant species in the middle stage"

Late-Stage Extreme Acidophile Iron Oxidation

CROSS_FEEDING

Source Taxon: Ferroplasma acidiphilum

Metabolites: Fe(II) (CHEBI:29033), Fe(III) (CHEBI:29034)

Biological Processes:

Downstream Effects:
→ Chalcopyrite Dissolution by Ferric Iron

Evidence

  • PMID:24242252 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "The results show that the culture consisted mainly of four species, including Leptospirillum ferriphilum, Acidithiobacillus caldus, Sulfobacillus acidophilus, and Ferroplasma thermophilum, before adapting to a pulp density of 4%"

Chalcopyrite Dissolution by Ferric Iron

MUTUALISM

Metabolites: chalcopyrite (CHEBI:50885), copper(2+) (CHEBI:29036), Fe(III) (CHEBI:29034), Fe(II) (CHEBI:29033)

Biological Processes:

Downstream Effects:
→ Thermophilic Ferrous Iron Oxidation in Early Reactor Stages

Evidence

  • PMID:24242252 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "Thereafter, these samples were combined and then inoculated into a basal salts solution in which different substrates (ferrous sulfate, elemental sulfur, and chalcopyrite) served as energy sources"
  • PMID:24242252 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "Thereafter, these samples were combined and then inoculated into a basal salts solution in which different substrates (ferrous sulfate, elemental sulf"

Organic Matter Scavenging by Cuniculiplasma

COMMENSALISM

Source Taxon: Cuniculiplasma divulgatum

Metabolites: organic molecular entity (CHEBI:50860), peptide (CHEBI:16670)

Biological Processes:

Evidence

  • PMID:PMC6336744 - SUPPORT (IN_VIVO)
    "fasciculata have revealed that: 1) the enzyme is located in the cytosol; 2) isozymes exist; 3) the major superoxide dismutase isozyme (superoxide dismutase 2) has Mr approximately equal to 43,000 and consists of two equal-sized subunits, each of which contains 1.4 atoms of iron"
  • doi:10.1007/s00792-018-1071-2 - SUPPORT (IN_VIVO)
    "Co-existence of Cuniculiplasmataceae with archaeal Richmond Mine acidophilic nanoorganisms ('ARMAN')-related archaea representing an intriguing group within the "microbial dark matter" suggests their common fundamental environmental strategy and metabolic networking"

Environmental Factors

Factor Value Unit
Moderate Thermophilic Temperature Range 40-50 °C
Extreme Acidity and pH Succession 1.5-2.0 (final); 3.79 (initial) pH units
High Pulp Density Through Adaptation 1-20% (adapted to 20% after >2 years) % w/v
Aeration and CO2 Enrichment 200 ml/h/L with 1% CO2 ml/h/L
Carbon Source Variation CO2, molasses, organic matter qualitative
Reactor Configuration and Operational Mode Batch and continuous modes qualitative
Leaching Time and Succession Phases 0-25+ days with distinct phases days
Ferric Iron Concentration Gradient >15 g/L in late stages g/L