Uptake and degradation of copper and cobalt porphyrins by indigenous microorganisms of Kupferschiefer (Fore-Sudetic Monocline, Poland)

To understand how natural metalloporphyrins from black shale may be transformed by indigenous microorganisms, a model experiment with synthetic copper and cobalt porphyrins was performed. Under laboratory conditions, microorganisms isolated from organic-rich metal-bearing black shale from the Fore-Sudetic Monocline were able to utilize both of these metalloporphyrins as their sole source of energy and carbon. The first step in metalloporphyrin biotransformation was identified as the highly efficient uptake of these compounds by bacterial cells. The further degradation of them in bacterial cells was also confirmed.Besides contributing to the important process of degrading and recycling organic and inorganic matter in the environment, the ability of microorganisms to transform metalloporphyrins has potential practical application in bioremediation of copper tailings as well as in the recovery of metals from organic-rich metal-bearing black shale ore, which is not possible using traditional hydrometallurgical procedures.