Abstract
Effect of heavy metal ions on the growth and the iron-oxidizing activity of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans were investigated.Cupric, zinc, cadmium, and chromium ions had no effect on the growth and the iron-oxidizing activity of cell suspensions or cell-free extracts of the bacterium in high concentrations (10−3~10−2M). Lead ion delayed the start of the growth slightly in 10−3 M, but it did not inhibit the iron-oxidizing activity of the cells in the concentration. Tin and molybdenum oxide ions inhibited both of them in the concentration above 10−3 M.Mercuric mercurous, and silver ions had the most harmful effect. In the concentration of 10−3 .M, each of the cations inhibited almost completely both the growth and the iron-oxidizing activity of the cells.In the experiments with cell-free extracts it was observed that the activity of cytochrome oxidase (cytochrome a597) operating in the iron-oxidizing system of the bacterium was specifically inhibited with mercuric ion in the concentration above 5 × 10−4 M.
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