Temperature studies of iron-oxidizing autotrophs and acidophilic heterotrophs isolated from uranium mines

Abstract

Iron-oxidizing autotrophs and acidophilic heterotrophs were quantified at an incubation temperature of 18 °C in several samples obtained from the bioleaching areas of two uranium mines in Ontario, Canada. All samples were mine-water samples with temperatures in the range 13–18 °C. Iron-oxidizing autotrophs ranged from 2683 ± 377 to 245 000 ± 20 205 colony-forming units∙mL−1 and were always numerically superior to acidophilic heterotrophs, which ranged from 40 ± 8 to 9650 ± 161 colony-forming units∙mL−1. For each sample, approximately 20 isolates of each nutritional group were examined for the ability to grow at temperatures of 4, 18, 21, and 37 °C, respectively; overall, 559 isolates of iron-oxidizing bacteria (predominantly Thiobacillus ferrooxidans) and 252 acidophilic heterotrophic isolates were examined and categorized as 'broader temperature range psychrotrophs,' 'narrower temperature range psychrotrophs,' 'intermediates,' or mesophiles. Although psychrotrophic representatives of both groups were abundant, no psychrophiles were recovered from any of the samples. For the iron oxidizers, the temperature growth profiles of the isolates were similar from sample to sample. For the acidophilic heterotrophs, the temperature growth profiles varied considerably among samples.Key words: psychrotrophs; Thiobacillus ferrooxidans; uranium mines.