Taxonomic and genomic insight of a novel A. ferrooxidans dominated bacterial consortia with high bioleaching property to spent lithium ion battery

A novel A. ferrooxidans dominated bacterial consortium with high bioleaching property to spent lithium ion batteries were obtained from AS sample, showing similar leaching cycle with the previously reported consortia/strains. The consortium was determined to consist of mixotrophs and chemoautotrophs, which could be applied in organic compounds abundant environments. Notably, three new species belonging to the genera of Sulfobacillus and Leptospirillum were annotated, and glycolysis coding gene sets were firstly observed in the species of A. ferrooxidans. Results of this study revealed that the diversity of bioleaching bacteria could be largely extended in non-acidic environments, from which consortia with high bioleaching efficiency could be obtained.