Ferrous Iron Oxidation by Salt-Tolerant “Thiobacillus prosperus”

Growth on ferrous iron of a new isolate of the halotolerant acidophile “Thiobacillus prosperus” occurred with a substrate oxidation rate similar to that of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, but with a requirement for salt (NaCl). These observations contrast with the previous description of “T. prosperus” in which a salt requirement was not noted and growth on ferrous iron was described as poor. As well as similar capacities for iron oxidation, these species were shown to possess similar clusters of genes (the rus operon) that encode proteins likely to be involved in transfer of electrons from ferrous iron. There were some differences in the organization of the genes and one of them that encodes a cytochrome c in At. ferrooxidans was absent from the “T. prosperus” cluster.