Rare Metal Technology 2021

ABSTRACT The genome sequence of the non-sugar-assimilating mesophile Methanococcus maripaludis contains three genes encoding enzymes: a nonphosphorylating NADP+-dependent glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPN), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate ferredoxin oxidoreductase (GAPOR); all these enzymes are potentially capable of catalyzing glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P) metabolism. GAPOR, whose homologs have been found mainly in archaea, catalyzes the reduction of ferredoxin coupled with oxidation of G3P. GAPOR has previously been isolated and characterized only from a sugar-assimilating hyperthermophile, Pyrococcus furiosus (GAPORPf), and contains the rare metal tungsten as an irreplaceable cofactor. Active recombinant M. maripaludis GAPOR (GAPORMm) was purified from Escherichia coli grown in minimal medium containing 100 μM sodium molybdate. In contrast, GAPORMm obtained from cells grown in medium containing tungsten (W) and W and molybdenum (Mo) or in medium without added W and Mo did not display any activity. Activity and transcript analysis of putative G3P-metabolizing enzymes and corresponding genes were performed with M. maripaludis cultured under autotrophic conditions in chemically defined medium. The activity of GAPORMm was constitutive throughout the culture period and exceeded that of GAPDH at all time points. As GAPDH activity was detected in only the gluconeogenic direction and GAPN activity was completely absent, only GAPORMm catalyzes oxidation of G3P in M. maripaludis. Recombinant GAPORMm is posttranscriptionally regulated as it exhibits pronounced and irreversible substrate inhibition and is completely inhibited by 1 μM ATP. With support from flux balance analysis, it is concluded that the major physiological role of GAPORMm in M. maripaludis most likely involves only nonoptimal growth conditions.

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Mobility and Bioavailability of Metal(loid)s in a Fluvial System Affected by the Mining and Industrial Processing of Pb

Geosciences ◽

10.3390/geosciences11040167 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 167

Author(s):

Unai Cortada ◽

María Carmen Hidalgo ◽

Julián Martínez ◽

María José de la Torre

Keyword(s):

Total Concentration ◽

Rare Metal ◽

Mining District ◽

X Ray ◽

Industrial Processing ◽

Solids Concentration ◽

Mobile Fraction ◽

Type Water ◽

The Impact

The abandoned mining district of Linares (South Spain) is marked with waste from the mining and the processing of metal ores that pose an environmental hazard to watercourses. A combined analysis of waste, sediments and water was carried out to analyse the impact of a smelter on Baños Creek. The composition of the facility waste was determined using X-ray diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy. The total contents of the metal(loid)s in the waters and sediments of the watercourse were analysed, and sequential metal(loid) extraction of solid samples was carried out. The facility wastes consisted mainly of secondary minerals, such as natropharmacosiderite and spertiniite, as well as rare metal salts, such as mopungite and NaPb2(CO3)2(OH). The leachates generated by these wastes were highly alkaline, with a pH of 10 and a total dissolved solids concentration of approximately 9 g L−1. This Na-bicarbonate-type water had an As concentration above 200 mg L−1 and elevated levels of Pb, Sb and Zn (5029 µg L−1, 841 µg L−1 and 525 µg L−1, respectively). This highly contaminated lixiviate had a significant effect on the chemical quality of the waters and the bioavailability of metal(loid)s in the creek sediments, especially in the headwaters. In this zone, the As, Pb, Sb and Zn concentrations in the most mobile fraction of the sediments reached 1035 mg kg−1, 261 mg kg−1, 45 mg kg−1 and 30 mg kg−1, respectively. By comparison, smelter slag and mining waste have a much lower impact on the waters and the mobile fraction of the sediments, while significantly increasing the total concentration of these potentially toxic elements in creek sediments.

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