Advance on study of copper-resistance mechanism in Acidithiobacillus spp.

Abstract:

Acidithiobacillus spp. is important for bioleaching because of the copper-resistance mecha-nism. Many data suggest that Acidithiobacillus spp.’s tolerance to copper is much higher than common bacteria. In the present paper, we reviewed the current knowledge on cop-per-resistance mechanism in Acidithiobacillus spp., including: eliminating copper from the cytoplasm of the cells; reducing copper concentration in the periplasm; a polyphosphate-based copper-resistance system; a newfound genomic island and an oxidative stress response gener-ated by copper. Furthermore, we discussed methods in transcription-regulation and pro-tein-function, to address future research needs.