Advancements and Use of OMIC Technologies in the Field of Bioleaching: A Review

Abstract

Bioleaching is an environmentally safe as well as economically feasible alternative to the conventional process of metal extraction from low-grade ores. It involves the recovery of metals through microbial oxidation of metallic and/or sulfuric compounds. Wide varieties of acidophilic microbes present in the mining sites, which are necessary to decrease the pH, eventually contribute to the biomining efficiency. Ongoing development and recent advanced techniques will ensure that the implementation of genetic engineering might improve the extraction rate within less time period. The use of OMIC (genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, etc.) techniques in bioleaching is gaining interest worldwide. In the last decade, a number of studies have been carried out for the determination of bioleaching diversity, development of conceptual and functional metabolic models, analysis of microbe-mineral interaction, etc. by using various OMIC technologies. These technologies are used to improve the understanding of various microbial activities during the bioleaching process, which helps in the development of industrial-scale bioleaching process.