Abstract
Acidophilic microorganisms are an ecologically and economically important group, which occur in acidic natural (solfataric fields, sulphuric pools) and man-made (eg. Acid mine drainage) environments. Acidophiles possess networked cellular adaptations for regulating intracellular pH. Several extracellular enzymes from acidophilic microbes are known to be functional at much lower pH than that inside the cells. Acid stable enzymes have applications in several industries such as starch, baking, fruit juice processing, animal feed and pharmaceuticals, and some of them have already been commercialized. Acidophiles are widely used in bioleaching of metals from low grade ores. This review focuses on the biology of acidophiles, acidstable enzymes and their potential applications, utility of acidophiles in bioconversion and bioremediation, and in microbial fuel cells to generate electricity.
Published Version
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