This paper describes the investigation of the secretion of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) by an extremely thermoacidophilic archaea, Metallosphaera sedula (M. sedula), during the bioleaching of pyrite under different temperatures and discusses the relationship among the EPS secretion, its heat resistance, and its ability to bioleach pyrite. The investigation results indicate that the amount of extracellular proteins is significantly higher than the amount of extracellular polysaccharides in the extracted EPS whether free cells or attached cells; these results are quite different from the behavior of mesophilic Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans. Although the growth of M. sedula is inhibited at 80°C, the bioleaching ability of M. sedula is only slightly lower than that at the optimum growth temperature of 72°C because of the heat resistance mechanism based on EPS secretion. The secretion of more extracellular proteins is an important heat resistance mechanism of M. sedula.

本文描述了在温度不同的黄铁矿生物浸出过程中，极热嗜酸古细菌Metallosphaera sedula（M.sedula）对胞外聚合物（EPS）分泌的研究，并探讨了EPS分泌，其耐热性，及其生物浸出黄铁矿的能力。研究结果表明，无论是游离细胞还是附着细胞，胞外蛋白的含量均明显高于提取的EPS中胞外多糖的含量。这些结果与中温酸性铁氧化硫杆菌的行为完全不同。尽管在80°C下景天的生长受到抑制，但沙门氏菌的生物浸出能力却不高。由于基于EPS分泌的耐热机制，小叶小球藻仅略低于最佳生长温度（72℃）。更多细胞外蛋白的分泌是东南景天的重要耐热机制。