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Disproportionation of elemental sulfur by haloalkaliphilic bacteria from soda lakes

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Abstract

Microbial disproportionation of elemental sulfur to sulfide and sulfate is a poorly characterized part of the anoxic sulfur cycle. So far, only a few bacterial strains have been described that can couple this reaction to cell growth. Continuous removal of the produced sulfide, for instance by oxidation and/or precipitation with metal ions such as iron, is essential to keep the reaction exergonic. Hitherto, the process has exclusively been reported for neutrophilic anaerobic bacteria. Here, we report for the first time disproportionation of elemental sulfur by three pure cultures of haloalkaliphilic bacteria isolated from soda lakes: the Deltaproteobacteria Desulfurivibrio alkaliphilus and Desulfurivibrio sp. AMeS2, and a member of the Clostridia, Dethiobacter alkaliphilus. All cultures grew in saline media at pH 10 by sulfur disproportionation in the absence of metals as sulfide scavengers. Our data indicate that polysulfides are the dominant sulfur species under highly alkaline conditions and that they might be disproportionated. Furthermore, we report the first organism (Dt. alkaliphilus) from the class Clostridia that is able to grow by sulfur disproportionation.

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Acknowledgments

Alexander Poser was supported by the German Research Foundation within the FOR 580 e-TraP project (Grant FOR 580 RIC). Britta Planer-Friedrich and Regina Lohmayer acknowledge funding by the German Research Foundation within project PL 302/5-1. Kai Finster acknowledges support by the Danish agency for science technology and innovation (Ref. no. 272-08-0497). This work was also supported by the RFBR Grant 13-04-40205 Comfi to Dimitry Y. Sorokin. We thank Christian Schröder (University Tübingen) for the Mössbauer analyses and Stephanie Hinke for valuable technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Isotope Biogeochemistry, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research UFZ, Permoserstraße 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany

    Alexander Poser, Carsten Vogt & Hans-H. Richnow

  2. University of Bayreuth, Environmental Geochemistry, Universitätsstraße 30, 95440, Bayreuth, Germany

    Regina Lohmayer & Britta Planer-Friedrich

  3. Department Catchment Hydrology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research UFZ, Theodor-Lieser-Straße 4, 06120, Halle, Germany

    Kay Knoeller

  4. Winogradsky Institute of Microbiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Prospect 60-let Octyabrya 7/2, 117312, Moscow, Russia

    Dimitry Sorokin

  5. Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan 67, 2628 BC, Delft, The Netherlands

    Dimitry Sorokin

  6. Microbiology Section, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114–116, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark

    Kai Finster

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  1. Alexander Poser
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Correspondence to Carsten Vogt.

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Communicated by A. Oren.

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Poser, A., Lohmayer, R., Vogt, C. et al. Disproportionation of elemental sulfur by haloalkaliphilic bacteria from soda lakes. Extremophiles 17, 1003–1012 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00792-013-0582-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00792-013-0582-0

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