Biotechnology Bulletin ›› 2017, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (7): 62-68.doi: 10.13560/j.cnki.biotech.bull.1985.2016-1197

• CONTENTS • Previous Articles     Next Articles

The Research Progress of the Functions and Mechanism of Extracellular Proteins in Bioleaching

YU Run-lan ,LIU A-juan ,LIU Ya-nan, LIU Xue-duan, QIU Guan-zhou, ZENG Wei-min   

  1. 1. School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering,Central South University,Changsha 410083;
    2. Key Laboratory of Biometallurgy,Ministry of Education,Central South University,Changsha 410083
  • Received:2017-01-07 Online:2017-07-11 Published:2017-07-11

Abstract: Mineral-microbe-solute multi phase interface is the key space for bioleaching of sulfide minerals. Microbial proteins at the interface as the key components of extracellular polymeric substances(EPS)play a key role in the biofilm formation,structure maintainance and sulfide mineral dissolution. This article reviews the developments,existing methods and their applicability for studying the extracellular proteins in EPS of metallurgical microorganisms during bioleaching,and prospects a vista of future research on the extracellular protein produced by bioleaching microorganisms. These will offer important theoretical basis for studying the structure and functional mechanisms of extracellular proteins in the bioleaching process.

Key words: bioleaching, extracellular polymeric substances, extracellular proteins, confocal laser scanning microscopy