Dominance of Acidithiobacillus at ore surface of Zijinshan commercial low-grade copper bioleaching heap

The microbial community structure in the ore surface of Zijinshan commercial low-grade copper bioleaching heap was investigated by 16S rRNA gene clone library. For both bacteria and Archaea, 105 clones were sequenced. The dominant bacteria species present in the ore surface were Acidithiobacillus and Leptospirillum, accounting for 51.42% and 48.57%, respectively. However, for the Archaea, only one operational taxonomic unit (OUT) belonged to Ferroplasma acidiphilum. These results indicate that function of genus Acidithiobacillus in the commercial low-grade copper bioleaching heap may be underestimated. More detailed and quantitative information on microbial community structure over time are now under investigation.