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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Artículo científico |
| Language: | en |
| Published: |
Frontiers in microbiology
2026
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| Online Access: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42039836/ |
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| _version_ | 1868266056170078209 |
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| author | Tonietti, Luca Esposito, Mattia Leggiero, Mirko Bunn, Fiona Eades, Lorna J Cordone, Angelina Horsfall, Louise Covone, Giovanni Cockell, Charles S Giovannelli, Donato Rotundi, Alessandra Santomartino, Rosa |
| author_facet | Tonietti, Luca Esposito, Mattia Leggiero, Mirko Bunn, Fiona Eades, Lorna J Cordone, Angelina Horsfall, Louise Covone, Giovanni Cockell, Charles S Giovannelli, Donato Rotundi, Alessandra Santomartino, Rosa Tonietti, Luca Esposito, Mattia Leggiero, Mirko Bunn, Fiona Eades, Lorna J Cordone, Angelina Horsfall, Louise Covone, Giovanni Cockell, Charles S Giovannelli, Donato Rotundi, Alessandra Santomartino, Rosa |
| collection | PubMed - marine biology |
| contents | Bioleaching of critical trace metals by : substrate-driven selectivity in Earth and space analogues. Tonietti, Luca Esposito, Mattia Leggiero, Mirko Bunn, Fiona Eades, Lorna J Cordone, Angelina Horsfall, Louise Covone, Giovanni Cockell, Charles S Giovannelli, Donato Rotundi, Alessandra Santomartino, Rosa Biotechnological advances are transforming the potential for sustainable resource utilization in space exploration. Biomining, using microorganisms to extract valuable metals, has emerged as a viable strategy for in resource utilization (ISRU) in extraterrestrial environments. However, an increasing body of literature is showing that selecting the most efficient bioleaching approach highly depends on the interaction between the microbial species, the type of rock and environmental conditions. In the space biomining context, the heterotrophic bacterium has demonstrated its capacity to extract valuable metals in space. This study harnessed a comparative bioleaching analysis to investigate the organism's ability to extract industrially relevant metals from seven terrestrial and extraterrestrial rock types, including a meteorite, a basaltic rock, and samples from the Sudbury Basin, an impact structure formed ~1.85 Ga ago. We demonstrated that, depending on the substrate mineralogy, selectively mobilized Ce (up to 10.6%), Th (up to 1.5%), and other metals such as Pd, Pt, Mo, and W, at circum-neutral pH conditions. However, the extraction was not equal across all substrates, indicating the importance of mineralogy in bioleaching. While extraction rates were lower compared to industrial biomining standards, these results underscore the organism's potential in low-grade rocks bioleaching, particularly relevant for sustainable terrestrial biomining and long-duration space missions. More broadly, this work demonstrates that bioleaching efficiency is shaped not only by the microbial species employed, but also by the specific characteristics of the substrate, emphasizing the need to tailor bioleaching strategies to distinct mineral contexts. |
| format | Artículo científico |
| id | pubmed_42039836 |
| institution | PubMed |
| language | en |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publisher | Frontiers in microbiology |
| record_format | pubmed |
| spellingShingle | Bioleaching of critical trace metals by : substrate-driven selectivity in Earth and space analogues. Tonietti, Luca Esposito, Mattia Leggiero, Mirko Bunn, Fiona Eades, Lorna J Cordone, Angelina Horsfall, Louise Covone, Giovanni Cockell, Charles S Giovannelli, Donato Rotundi, Alessandra Santomartino, Rosa Bioleaching of critical trace metals by : substrate-driven selectivity in Earth and space analogues. Tonietti, Luca Esposito, Mattia Leggiero, Mirko Bunn, Fiona Eades, Lorna J Cordone, Angelina Horsfall, Louise Covone, Giovanni Cockell, Charles S Giovannelli, Donato Rotundi, Alessandra Santomartino, Rosa Biotechnological advances are transforming the potential for sustainable resource utilization in space exploration. Biomining, using microorganisms to extract valuable metals, has emerged as a viable strategy for in resource utilization (ISRU) in extraterrestrial environments. However, an increasing body of literature is showing that selecting the most efficient bioleaching approach highly depends on the interaction between the microbial species, the type of rock and environmental conditions. In the space biomining context, the heterotrophic bacterium has demonstrated its capacity to extract valuable metals in space. This study harnessed a comparative bioleaching analysis to investigate the organism's ability to extract industrially relevant metals from seven terrestrial and extraterrestrial rock types, including a meteorite, a basaltic rock, and samples from the Sudbury Basin, an impact structure formed ~1.85 Ga ago. We demonstrated that, depending on the substrate mineralogy, selectively mobilized Ce (up to 10.6%), Th (up to 1.5%), and other metals such as Pd, Pt, Mo, and W, at circum-neutral pH conditions. However, the extraction was not equal across all substrates, indicating the importance of mineralogy in bioleaching. While extraction rates were lower compared to industrial biomining standards, these results underscore the organism's potential in low-grade rocks bioleaching, particularly relevant for sustainable terrestrial biomining and long-duration space missions. More broadly, this work demonstrates that bioleaching efficiency is shaped not only by the microbial species employed, but also by the specific characteristics of the substrate, emphasizing the need to tailor bioleaching strategies to distinct mineral contexts. |
| title | Bioleaching of critical trace metals by : substrate-driven selectivity in Earth and space analogues. |
| url | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42039836/ |