%0 Journal Article
%T Evolution of Microbial ¡°Streamer¡± Growths in an Acidic, Metal-Contaminated Stream Draining an Abandoned Underground Copper Mine
%A Catherine M. Kay
%A Owen F. Rowe
%A Laura Rocchetti
%A Kris Coupland
%A Kevin B. Hallberg
%A D. Barrie Johnson
%J Life
%D 2013
%I MDPI AG
%R 10.3390/life3010189
%X A nine year study was carried out on the evolution of macroscopic ¡°acid streamer¡± growths in acidic, metal-rich mine water from the point of construction of a new channel to drain an abandoned underground copper mine. The new channel became rapidly colonized by acidophilic bacteria: two species of autotrophic iron-oxidizers ( Acidithiobacillus ferrivorans and ¡° Ferrovum myxofaciens¡±) and a heterotrophic iron-oxidizer (a novel genus/species with the proposed name ¡° Acidithrix ferrooxidans¡±). The same bacteria dominated the acid streamer communities for the entire nine year period, with the autotrophic species accounting for ~80% of the micro-organisms in the streamer growths (as determined by terminal restriction enzyme fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis). Biodiversity of the acid streamers became somewhat greater in time, and included species of heterotrophic acidophiles that reduce ferric iron ( Acidiphilium, Acidobacterium, Acidocella and gammaproteobacterium WJ2) and other autotrophic iron-oxidizers ( Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Leptospirillum ferrooxidan s). The diversity of archaea in the acid streamers was far more limited; relatively few clones were obtained, all of which were very distantly related to known species of euryarchaeotes. Some differences were apparent between the acid streamer community and planktonic-phase bacteria. This study has provided unique insights into the evolution of an extremophilic microbial community, and identified several novel species of acidophilic prokaryotes.
%K Acidithiobacillus
%K acid mine drainage (AMD)
%K acid streamers
%K Actinobacteria
%K Ferrovum
%K iron oxidation
%K microbial communities
%U http://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/3/1/189