Project description:Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) belong to an economically important group of Gram-positive microorganisms, whose main characteristic is the production of lactic acid by carbohydrates fermentation. Lactobacillus paraplantarum CRL 1905 is a LAB isolated from quinoa sourdoughs with biotechnological potential as a starter or probiotic. Inorganic phosphate (Pi) is an essential nutrient for most bacteria cell functions and it is involved in many regulatory processes. The aim of the project was to evaluate the influence of environmental Pi concentration in different physiological and molecular aspects of the CRL 1905 strain. Phenotypic and proteomic data provide new insights to understand the adaptations in several metabolic pathways that CRL 1905 experiments in response to differential Pi conditions.
Project description:Biomining is a biotechnological process carried out in many parts of the world that exploits acid loving microorganisms to extract metals from sulphide minerals. One industrial biomining method is called ‘heap bioleaching’ where typically copper containing minerals are piled into very large heaps, acid and microorganisms are added to the top and the soluble metal is collected at the heap base. The role of the different types of microbes in the process is to speed up metal solubilisation by oxidising ferrous iron to ferric and removing sulphur compounds that can accumulate on the mineral surface. Metals are most efficiently released from sulphide ores if the microorganisms form a thin layer, termed a ‘biofilm’, on the mineral surface. A crucial stage in bioleaching is how efficiently the microbes attach to the mineral. This project will test how rapidly a biofilm is formed and copper is released from the mineral by different combinations of microorganisms and the order that they are added. Data on the biological processes the microorganisms carry out will be used in computer modelling to suggest the best combination and order in which to add the different types of microbes. This in turn will increase the efficiency of industrial bioleaching by reducing the time between when a heap is built and when the first metals are collected.
Project description:Biomining is a biotechnological process carried out in many parts of the world that exploits acid loving microorganisms to extract metals from sulphide minerals. One industrial biomining method is called ‘heap bioleaching’ where typically copper containing minerals are piled into very large heaps, acid and microorganisms are added to the top and the soluble metal is collected at the heap base. The role of the different types of microbes in the process is to speed up metal solubilisation by oxidising ferrous iron to ferric and removing sulphur compounds that can accumulate on the mineral surface. Metals are most efficiently released from sulphide ores if the microorganisms form a thin layer, termed a ‘biofilm’, on the mineral surface. A crucial stage in bioleaching is how efficiently the microbes attach to the mineral. This project will test how rapidly a biofilm is formed and copper is released from the mineral by different combinations of microorganisms and the order that they are added. Data on the biological processes the microorganisms carry out will be used in computer modelling to suggest the best combination and order in which to add the different types of microbes. This in turn will increase the efficiency of industrial bioleaching by reducing the time between when a heap is built and when the first metals are collected.