The passage of water through certain bituminous coal mines results in a solution which is extremely acid in reaction because of its high content of ferrous sulfate, some aluminum sulfate, and lesser amounts of manganese sulfate. The ferrous iron is subsequently rapidly oxidized to the ferric state by an autotrophic bacterium. Autotrophic bacteria have also been implicated in the formation of th...

The rusticyanin gene from the acidophilic chemolithotroph Thiobacillus ferrooxidans has been cloned and sequenced. A central portion of the gene was identified by PCR reactions utilising primers optimised for codon bias followed by nested PCR with degenerate primers. The 5' and 3' ends of the rusticyanin gene were then cloned using degenerate primers to each end and anchor sequences to the know...

Comparative sequence analysis of in vitro-amplified 16S rRNA genes of Thiosphaera pantotropha GB17T (T = type strain) and Paracoccus denitrificans LMG 4218T revealed identical 16S rRNA primary structures for the two organisms. The level of overall DNA similarity of Thiosphaera pantotropha GB17T and P. denitrificans DSM 65T is 85%, as determined by quantitative DNA-DNA hybridization. Therefore, ...

The synthesis, molecular structure, and electronic structure characterization of two five-coordinate high-spin imidazolate-ligated iron(II) porphyrinates are reported. Their electronic structure, as deduced from Mössbauer spectra obtained in strong magnetic fields, is distinctly different from that of the analogous imidazole-ligated species. The resulting electronic structure models are consist...

The oxidation of elemental sulfur by Thiobacillus thiooxidans was studied at pH 2.3, 4.5, and 7.0 in the presence of different concentrations of various anions (sulfate, phosphate, chloride, nitrate, and fluoride) and cations (potassium, sodium, lithium, rubidium, and cesium). The results agree with the expected response of this acidophilic bacterium to charge neutralization of colloids by ions...