Biomaterial Database

Ferric iron reduction by sulfur- and iron-oxidizing bacteria. 1976

T D Brock, and J Gustafson

Acidophilic bacteria of the genera Thiobacillus and Sulfolobus are able to reduce ferric iron when growing on elemental sulfur as an energy source. It has been previously thought that ferric iron serves as a nonbiological oxidant in the formation of acid mine drainage and in the leaching of ores, but these results suggest that bacterial catalysis may play a significant role in the reactivity of ferric iron.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007501	Iron	A metallic element with atomic symbol Fe, atomic number 26, and atomic weight 55.85. It is an essential constituent of HEMOGLOBINS; CYTOCHROMES; and IRON-BINDING PROTEINS. It plays a role in cellular redox reactions and in the transport of OXYGEN.	Iron-56,Iron 56
D010084	Oxidation-Reduction	A chemical reaction in which an electron is transferred from one molecule to another. The electron-donating molecule is the reducing agent or reductant; the electron-accepting molecule is the oxidizing agent or oxidant. Reducing and oxidizing agents function as conjugate reductant-oxidant pairs or redox pairs (Lehninger, Principles of Biochemistry, 1982, p471).	Redox,Oxidation Reduction
D004579	Electron Transport	The process by which ELECTRONS are transported from a reduced substrate to molecular OXYGEN. (From Bennington, Saunders Dictionary and Encyclopedia of Laboratory Medicine and Technology, 1984, p270)	Respiratory Chain,Chain, Respiratory,Chains, Respiratory,Respiratory Chains,Transport, Electron
D005290	Ferric Compounds	Inorganic or organic compounds containing trivalent iron.	Compounds, Ferric
D005296	Ferrous Compounds	Inorganic or organic compounds that contain divalent iron.	Compounds, Ferrous
D006091	Gram-Negative Chemolithotrophic Bacteria	A large group of bacteria including those which oxidize ammonia or nitrite, metabolize sulfur and sulfur compounds, or deposit iron and/or manganese oxides.	Thiobacteriaceae,Gram Negative Chemolithotrophic Bacteria
D013455	Sulfur	An element that is a member of the chalcogen family. It has an atomic symbol S, atomic number 16, and atomic weight [32.059; 32.076]. It is found in the amino acids cysteine and methionine.	Sulfur-16,Sulfur 16
D013855	Thiobacillus	A genus of gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria that derives energy from the oxidation of one or more reduced sulfur compounds. Many former species have been reclassified to other classes of PROTEOBACTERIA.	Thiobacillus denitrificans,Thiobacillus thioparus
D013856	Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans	A strictly autotrophic species of bacteria that oxidizes sulfur and thiosulfate to sulfuric acid. It was formerly called Thiobacillus thiooxidans.	Thiobacillus thiooxidans