An antiserum raised against whole cells of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans was allowed to react with a variety of acidophilic and nonacidophilic bacteria in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and an indirect immunofluorescence assay. Both experiments demonstrated that the antiserum was specific at the species level. This preparation was used to evaluate the role of T. ferrooxidans in the microbial desulfurization process. Leaching experiments were performed, and the numbers of T. ferrooxidans cells and other bacteria were estimated by using a combined immunofluorescence-DNA-fluorescence staining technique that was adapted for this purpose. Nonsterile coal samples inoculated with T. ferrooxidans yielded high concentrations of soluble iron after 16 days. After this period, however, T. ferrooxidans cells could no longer be detected by the immunofluorescence assay, whereas the DNA-fluorescence staining procedure demonstrated a large number of microorganisms on the coal particles. These results indicate that T. ferrooxidans is removed by competition with different acidophilic microorganisms that were originally present on the coal.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.