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Differential expression of extracellular thiol groups of moderately thermophilic Sulfobacillus thermosulfidooxidans and extremely thermophilic Acidianus manzaensis grown on S0 and Fe2+

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Abstract

Bio-oxidation of elemental sulfur (S0) is very important in bioleaching and sulfur cycle. S0 was proposed to be first activated by reacting with reactive thiol groups (–SH) of outer membrane proteins, forming –S n H (n ≥ 2) complexes. The differential expression of –SH of moderately thermophilic Sulfobacillus thermosulfidooxidans and extremely thermophilic Acidianus manzaensis grown on Fe2+ and S0 was investigated by synchrotron radiation-based scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) imaging and micro-beam X-ray fluorescence (μ-XRF) mapping. The STXM imaging and μ-XRF mapping of extracellular –SH were based on the analysis of Ca2+ bound on the cell. By comparing Ca2+ of the cells with and without labeling by Ca2+, the distribution and content of thiol groups were obtained. The results showed that, for both S. thermosulfidooxidans and A. manzaensis, the expression of extracellular –SH of S0-grown cells was higher than that of Fe2+-grown cells. Statistical analysis indicated that the expression of extracellular –SH for S. thermosulfidooxidans and A. manzaensis grown on S0 was 2.37 times and 2.14 times, respectively, to that on Fe2+. These results evidently demonstrate that the extracellular thiol groups are most probably involved in elemental sulfur activation and oxidation of the acidophilic sulfur-oxidizing microorganisms.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the staff at beamlines BL08U1A and BL15U1 of Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF) for their help in beamlines operation and data collection. This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51274257), the Joint Funds of National Natural Science Foundation of China and Large Scientific Facility Foundation of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. U1232103), and the Open Funds of SSRF, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China (Grant Nos. 13SRBL15U15653 and Z13sr0026).

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Authors and Affiliations

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

    Hong-chang Liu, Jin-lan Xia & Zhen-yuan Nie

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

    Hong-chang Liu, Jin-lan Xia & Zhen-yuan Nie

  3. Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai, 201800, China

    Xiang-jun Zhen & Li-juan Zhang

  4. Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201800, China

    Xiang-jun Zhen & Li-juan Zhang

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  1. Hong-chang Liu
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  2. Jin-lan Xia
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  3. Zhen-yuan Nie
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  4. Xiang-jun Zhen
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  5. Li-juan Zhang
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Correspondence to Jin-lan Xia.

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Communicated by Friedrich Widdel.

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Liu, Hc., Xia, Jl., Nie, Zy. et al. Differential expression of extracellular thiol groups of moderately thermophilic Sulfobacillus thermosulfidooxidans and extremely thermophilic Acidianus manzaensis grown on S0 and Fe2+ . Arch Microbiol 197, 823–831 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-015-1111-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-015-1111-6

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