Abstract
SummaryIndustrial biomining has been extensively used for many years to recover valuable metals such as copper, gold, uranium and others. Furthermore, microorganisms involved in these processes can also be used to bioremediate places contaminated with acid and metals. These uses are possible due to the great metal resistance that these extreme acidophilic microorganisms possess. In this review, the most recent findings related to copper resistance mechanisms of bacteria and archaea related to biohydrometallurgy are described. The recent search for novel metal resistance determinants is not only of scientific interest but also of industrial importance, as reflected by the genomic sequencing of microorganisms present in mining operations and the search of those bacteria with extreme metal resistance to improve the extraction processes used by the biomining companies.
Highlights
Biomining is used to enhance the recovery of metals from ores such as sulfide minerals
The results recently reported by Navarro et al, 2016 showed that the two proteins AcoP and Rus are upregulated in A. ferrooxidans cells in the presence of copper, suggesting they might have an additional role in copper tolerance
Displacements, key active elements involved in metal resistance in environmental acidophilic microorganisms appear to be a wide repertoire of known regulated copper resistance determinants similar to those present in all microorganisms
Summary
Industrial biomining has been extensively used for many years to recover valuable metals such as copper, gold, uranium and others. Microorganisms involved in these processes can be used to bioremediate places contaminated with acid and metals. These uses are possible due to the great metal resistance that these extreme acidophilic microorganisms possess. The recent search for novel metal resistance determinants is of scientific interest and of industrial importance, as reflected by the genomic sequencing of microorganisms present in mining operations and the search of those bacteria with extreme metal resistance to improve the extraction processes used by the biomining companies
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