Rare Earth Element Extraction from Ionic Rare Earth Ores by Two Typical Acidogenic Microorganisms, Aspergillus niger and Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans

Wang, Mengyuan; Li, Jingna; Liu, Hongchang; Huang, Shiyun; Liu, Xiaoyan; Liu, Yang; Awais, Muhammad; Wang, Jun

doi:10.3390/ijms26051986

Open AccessArticle

Rare Earth Element Extraction from Ionic Rare Earth Ores by Two Typical Acidogenic Microorganisms, Aspergillus niger and Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans

by

Mengyuan Wang

^1,†,

Jingna Li

^1,†,

Hongchang Liu

^1,2,*

,

Shiyun Huang

¹,

Xiaoyan Liu

¹,

Yang Liu

^1,2,

Muhammad Awais

¹ and

Jun Wang

^1,2

¹

School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China

²

Key Lab of Biometallurgy of Ministry of Education of China, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(5), 1986; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26051986

Submission received: 5 February 2025 / Revised: 20 February 2025 / Accepted: 23 February 2025 / Published: 25 February 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Mechanisms of Extremophilic Bacteria and Their Potential Applications in Biotechnology)

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Abstract

Ionic rare earth ore (IREO) has a high abundance of medium and heavy rare earth elements (REEs), making it a vital strategic resource for China. In this work, two typical microorganisms, Aspergillus niger and Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, were used to study the interaction mechanism during the bioleaching of IREO under acidic conditions. The results revealed some differences in the interaction and leaching effects of A. niger and A. ferrooxidans on ionic rare earth minerals. A. niger mainly forms rare earth complexes with rare earth ions in IREO by secreting metabolites such as organic acids, thereby promoting the release of REEs, and it has a strong adsorption capacity for Yb. A. ferrooxidans promotes the release of REEs from rare earth minerals, primarily through iron–sulfur oxidation. The differential expression of metabolic genes (e.g., gpmL, FabF, FASN) associated with major metabolite secretion indicates their correlation with the leaching process. The above results reveal the role of the typical acid-producing microorganisms A. niger and A. ferrooxidans and their metabolites in the leaching of IREO, which is valuable for understanding the interaction mechanisms between microorganisms and IREO under acidic conditions.

Keywords: ionic rare earth ore; microbe-mineral interaction; Aspergillus niger; Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans; comparative transcriptomics

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MDPI and ACS Style

Wang, M.; Li, J.; Liu, H.; Huang, S.; Liu, X.; Liu, Y.; Awais, M.; Wang, J. Rare Earth Element Extraction from Ionic Rare Earth Ores by Two Typical Acidogenic Microorganisms, Aspergillus niger and Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26, 1986. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26051986

AMA Style

Wang M, Li J, Liu H, Huang S, Liu X, Liu Y, Awais M, Wang J. Rare Earth Element Extraction from Ionic Rare Earth Ores by Two Typical Acidogenic Microorganisms, Aspergillus niger and Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2025; 26(5):1986. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26051986

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wang, Mengyuan, Jingna Li, Hongchang Liu, Shiyun Huang, Xiaoyan Liu, Yang Liu, Muhammad Awais, and Jun Wang. 2025. "Rare Earth Element Extraction from Ionic Rare Earth Ores by Two Typical Acidogenic Microorganisms, Aspergillus niger and Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans" International Journal of Molecular Sciences 26, no. 5: 1986. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26051986

APA Style

Wang, M., Li, J., Liu, H., Huang, S., Liu, X., Liu, Y., Awais, M., & Wang, J. (2025). Rare Earth Element Extraction from Ionic Rare Earth Ores by Two Typical Acidogenic Microorganisms, Aspergillus niger and Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 26(5), 1986. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26051986

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Rare Earth Element Extraction from Ionic Rare Earth Ores by Two Typical Acidogenic Microorganisms, Aspergillus niger and Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans

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