Fk. Crundwell, THE KINETICS OF THE CHEMIOSMOTIC PROTON CIRCUIT OF THE IRON-OXIDIZINGBACTERIUM THIOBACILLUS-FERROOXIDANS, Bioelectrochemistry and bioenergetics, 43(1), 1997, pp. 115-122
The kinetics of the coupling of the redox reactions and oxidative phos
phorylation in Thiobacillus ferrooxidans is analyzed by the methods of
electrochemical kinetics. The chemiosmotic circuit operates in a mann
er analogous to the circuit of a fuel cell or a battery: anodic and ca
thodic reactions are connected in one half of the circuit by the elect
ron-transport chain, and in the other half of the circuit by the solut
ion and the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthase. It is shown that th
is model predicts that the rate of oxidation of ferrous ions at low co
ncentrations is half order in the concentration of ferrous ions, and a
t high concentrations it is zero order. This electrochemical hypothesi
s is supported by the experimental results, including both the bioener
getic parameters and the measurement of the rate of bacterial growth.
(C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.