Microbial iron oxide respiration coupled to sulfide oxidation.

ABSTRACT: Microorganisms have driven Earth's sulfur cycle since the emergence of life^1-6, yet the sulfur-cycling capacities of microorganisms and their integration with other element cycles remain incompletely understood. One such uncharacterized metabolism is the coupling of sulfide oxidation with iron(III) oxide reduction, a ubiquitous environmental process hitherto considered to be strictly abiotic^7,8. Here we present a comprehensive genomic analysis of sulfur metabolism across prokaryotes, and reveal bacteria that are capable of oxidizing sulfide using extracellular solid phase iron(III). Based on a phylogenetic framework of over hundred genes involved in dissimilatory transformation of sulfur compounds, we recorded sulfur-cycling capacity in most bacterial and archaeal phy

SUBMITTER: Chen SC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12545173 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature