Polysulfides as intermediates in the oxidation of sulfide to sulfate by Beggiatoa spp.

ABSTRACT: Zero-valent sulfur is a key intermediate in the microbial oxidation of sulfide to sulfate. Many sulfide-oxidizing bacteria produce and store large amounts of sulfur intra- or extracellularly. It is still not understood how the stored sulfur is metabolized, as the most stable form of S(0) under standard biological conditions, orthorhombic α-sulfur, is most likely inaccessible to bacterial enzymes. Here we analyzed the speciation of sulfur in single cells of living sulfide-oxidizing bacteria via Raman spectroscopy. Our results showed that under various ecological and physiological conditions, all three investigated Beggiatoa strains stored sulfur as a combination of cyclooctasulfur (S8) and inorganic polysulfides (Sn(2-)). Linear sulfur chains were detected during both the oxidation and redu

SUBMITTER: Berg JS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3911116 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature