Arsenite oxidation and arsenate respiration by a new Thermus isolate.

A new microbial strain was isolated from an arsenic-rich terrestrial geothermal environment. The isolate, designated HR13, was identified as a Thermus species based on 16S rDNA phylogenetic relationships and close sequence similarity within the Thermus genus. Under aerobic conditions, Thermus HR13 was capable of rapidly oxidizing inorganic As(III) to As(V). As(III) was oxidized at a rate approximately 100-fold greater than abiotic rates. Metabolic energy was not gained from the oxidation reaction. In the absence of oxygen, Thermus HR13 grew by As(V) respiration coupled with lactate oxidation. The ability to oxidize and reduce arsenic has not been previously described within the Thermus genus.

Rapid arsenite oxidation by Thermus aquaticus and Thermus thermophilus: field and laboratory investigations.

Thermus aquaticus and Thermus thermophilus, common inhabitants of terrestrial hot springs and thermally polluted domestic and industrial waters, have been found to rapidly oxidize arsenite to arsenate. Field investigations at a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park revealed conserved total arsenic transport and rapid arsenite oxidation occurring within the drainage channel. This environment was heavily colonized by Thermus aquaticus. In laboratory experiments, arsenite oxidation by cultures of Thermus aquaticus YT1 (previously isolated from Yellowstone National Park) and Thermus thermophilus HB8 was accelerated by a factor of over 100 relative to a biotic controls. Thermus aquaticus and Thermus thermophilus may therefore play a large and previously unrecognized role in determining arsenic speciation and bioavailability in thermal environments.

An archaeal iron-oxidizing extreme acidophile important in acid mine drainage.

A new species of Archaea grows at pH approximately 0.5 and approximately 40 degrees C in slime streamers and attached to pyrite surfaces at a sulfide ore body, Iron Mountain, California. This iron-oxidizing Archaeon is capable of growth at pH 0. This species represents a dominant prokaryote in the environment studied (slimes and sediments) and constituted up to 85% of the microbial community when solution concentrations were high (conductivity of 100 to 160 millisiemens per centimeter). The presence of this and other closely related Thermoplasmales suggests that these acidophiles are important contributors to acid mine drainage and may substantially impact iron and sulfur cycles.

Seasonal variations in microbial populations and environmental conditions in an extreme acid mine drainage environment.

Microbial populations, their distributions, and their aquatic environments were studied over a year (1997) at an acid mine drainage (AMD) site at Iron Mountain, Calif. Populations were quantified by fluorescence in situ hybridizations with group-specific probes. Probes were used for the domains Eucarya, Bacteria, and Archaea and the two species most widely studied and implicated for their role in AMD production, Thiobacillus ferrooxidans and Leptospirillum ferrooxidans. Results show that microbial populations, in relative proportions and absolute numbers, vary spatially and seasonally and correlate with geochemical and physical conditions (pH, temperature, conductivity, and rainfall). Bacterial populations were in the highest proportion (>95%) in January. Conversely, archaeal populations were in the highest proportion in July and September ( approximately 50%) and were virtually absent in the winter. Bacterial and archaeal populations correlated with conductivity and rainfall. High concentrations of dissolved solids, as reflected by high conductivity values (up to 125 mS/cm), occurred in the summer and correlated with high archaeal populations and proportionally lower bacterial populations. Eukaryotes were not detected in January, when total microbial cell numbers were lowest (<10(5) cells/ml), but eukaryotes increased at low-pH sites ( approximately 0.5) during the remainder of the year. This correlated with decreasing water temperatures (50 to 30 degrees C; January to November) and increasing numbers of prokaryotes (10(8) to 10(9) cells/ml). T. ferrooxidans was in highest abundance (>30%) at moderate pHs and temperatures ( approximately 2.5 and 20 degrees C) in sites that were peripheral to primary acid-generating sites and lowest (0 to 5%) at low-pH sites (pH approximately 0.5) that were in contact with the ore body. L. ferrooxidans was more widely distributed with respect to geochemical conditions (pH = 0 to 3; 20 to 50 degrees C) but was more abundant at higher temperatures and lower pHs ( approximately 40 degrees C; pH approximately 0.5) than T. ferrooxidans.