Metal Extraction and Bioleaching

Biophytometallurgy: biomining metals from plant resources

This study investigates metal release from plants using biophytometallurgy, showing that microbial activity influences rare earth element redistribution without requiring thermal processing.

Early-Stage Cultures of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans Enable Efficient Bioleaching of Li-ion Battery Cathode Material

This study shows that early-stage cultures of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans improve leaching efficiency of LIB cathode material compared to later growth phases.

Saprotrophic soil fungus dissolves lithium lepidolite through inositol rescue metabolism

This study shows a soil fungus alters its metabolism to dissolve lithium ore, releasing soluble lithium, and suggests similar strategies may occur in natural microbial communities.

Environmental filtering, dispersal limitation, and competition control the distribution of acidophilic iron oxidizers

The paper investigates factors controlling the distribution of Fe(II) oxidizers in acid mine drainage ecosystems, finding that environmental filtering, competition, and dispersal limitation shape their abundance and niche preferences.

Trait-Based Meta-Analysis of Microbial Guilds in the Iron Redox Cycle

This paper performs a trait-based meta-analysis of microbial guilds involved in iron redox cycling, identifying functional guilds and their ecological roles across diverse environments.

Diverse microbial metal resistance and novel metal cycling organisms in copper/nickel mine tailings

The paper profiles microbial communities in copper/nickel mine tailings using metagenomics and metaproteomics, revealing diverse metal resistance genes and novel taxa, along with challenges in low-biomass sequencing.

Beyond SOx: Mining Sulfur Bacteria Produce Less Acid due to Unidentified Enzyme Pathways

This study investigates sulfur oxidation pathways in bacteria under oxic and suboxic conditions, finding lower proton yields than expected and suggesting unknown enzymatic mechanisms.

Metabolic diversity of the Ferrovales and potential contributions to iron oxidation

The paper analyzes Ferrovales genomes to understand their metabolic diversity and potential for iron oxidation in acid mine drainage bioremediation.

An organotrophic Sideroxydans reveals potential iron oxidation marker genes

This paper identifies potential iron oxidation marker genes in Sideroxydans sp. CL21 by comparing gene expression under different growth conditions.

Cross-species Comparison of Ultramafic Rock Bio-accelerated Weathering Performance

This paper compares the performance of three microbes in dissolving ultramafic rock dunite, finding that Gluconobacter oxydans outperforms the others in acid production and metal extraction.

Historic mine waste contains diverse microbial communities that reflect waste type and geochemistry

The paper analyzes microbial communities in historic mine waste to assess their composition, activity, and geochemical associations, finding that they are dominated by inorganic nitrogen- and carbon-oxidizing taxa and contain rare iron and sulfur-cycling organisms.

Bio-Accelerated Weathering of Ultramafic Minerals with Gluconobacter oxydans

This paper demonstrates that Gluconobacter oxydans produces biolixiviants that significantly accelerate the leaching of cations from ultramafic minerals compared to chemical alternatives.

Microbial magnetite oxidation via MtoAB porin-multiheme cytochrome complex in Sideroxydans lithotrophicus ES-1

This paper shows Sideroxydans lithotrophicus ES-1 uses magnetite as a solid electron donor for iron oxidation, with MtoA and cupredoxin proteins involved in this process.

Sulfuriferula spp. from sulfide mineral weathering environments have diverse sulfur- and iron-cycling capabilities

This study isolates and characterizes Sulfuriferula strains from sulfide mineral weathering environments, revealing their diverse sulfur and iron cycling capabilities and genomic metabolic diversity.

Profiling extremophile bacterial communities recovered from a mining tailing against soil ecosystems through comparative genome-resolved metagenomics and evolutionary analysis

The paper analyzes microbial communities from a copper tailing using metagenomics to compare their metabolic and evolutionary traits with soil bacteria, identifying new taxa and functional adaptations.

Direct Genome-Scale Screening of Gluconobacter oxydans B58 for Rare Earth Element Bioleaching

The paper screens a genome-scale knockout collection of Gluconobacter oxydans B58 to identify genes important for bioleaching neodymium, finding 89 genes, 68 novel to this process, and validating strain-specific effects on bioleaching efficiency.

High Efficiency Rare Earth Element Biomining with Systems Biology Guided Engineering of Gluconobacter oxydans

This paper improves REE bioleaching by engineering Gluconobacter oxydans through genetic modifications that enhance acid production and metabolic efficiency.

Gluconobacter oxydans Knockout Collection Finds Improved Rare Earth Element Extraction

The paper identifies genetic factors in Gluconobacter oxydans that enhance rare earth element bioleaching, finding 304 genes affecting acid production and bioleaching efficiency.