Stoichiometric model and flux balance analysis for a mixed culture of Leptospirillum ferriphilum and Ferroplasma acidiphilum.

The oxidation process of sulfide minerals in natural environments is achieved by microbial communities from the Archaea and Bacteria domains. A metabolic reconstruction of two dominant species, Leptospirillum ferriphilum and Ferroplasma acidiphilum, which are always found together as a mixed culture in this natural environments, was made. The metabolic model, composed of 152 internal reactions and 29 transport reactions, describes the main interactions between these species, assuming that both use ferrous iron as energy source, and F. acidiphilum takes advantage of the organic compounds secreted by L. ferriphilum for chemomixotrophic growth. A first metabolic model for a mixed culture used in bacterial leaching is proposed in this article, which pretends to represent the characteristics of the mixed culture in a simplified manner. It was evaluated with experimental data through flux balance analysis (FBA) using as objective function the maximization of biomass. The growth yields on ferrous iron obtained for each microorganism are consistent with experimental data, and the flux distribution obtained allows understanding of the metabolic capabilities of both microorganisms growing together in a bioleaching process. The model was used to simulate the growth of F. acidiphilum on different substrates, to determine in silico which compounds maximize cell growth, and which are essential. Knockout simulations were carried out for L. ferriphilum and F. acidiphilum metabolic models, predicting key enzymes of central metabolism. The results of this analysis are consistent with experimental data from literature, showing a robust behavior of the metabolic model.