Project description:Dissimilatory sulfate reduction (DSR) mediated by sulfate-reducing microorganisms (SRMs) plays a pivotal role in global sulfur, carbon, oxygen, and iron cycles since ~3.5 billion years ago. The canonical DSR pathway is believed to be sulfate reduction to sulfide. Herein, we report a new DSR pathway in phylogenetically diverse SRMs through which zero-valent sulfur (ZVS) is directly generated. We identified that approximately 8.9% of sulfate reduction was directed toward ZVS with S8 as a predominant product, and the ratio of sulfate-to-ZVS could be changed with SRMs’ growth conditions, particularly the medium salinity. Further coculturing experiments and metadata analyses revealed that DSR-derived ZVS supported the growth of various ZVS-metabolizing microorganisms, highlighting this new pathway as an essential component of the sulfur biogeochemical cycle
Project description:The existence of light in various deep-sea environments has been well established. Our previous research found blue light promotes zero-valent sulfur (ZVS) production in Erythrobacter flavus 21-3, a bacterium isolated from the deep-sea cold seep. E. flavus 21-3 can convert thiosulfate to ZVS through a novel thiosulfate oxidation pathway comprising a thiosulfate dehydrogenase (TsdA) and two thiosulfohydrolases (SoxB). Using proteomic analysis, bacterial two-hybrid system and heterologous expression assays, we found that infrared light also promotes zero-valent sulfur (ZVS) production in E. flavus 21-3. The bacteriophytochrome (bphp) Ef2bphp-15570 autophosphorylated and activated GGDEF domain-containing protein D0Y83_RS00450 to produce c-di-GMP. Subsequently, the PilZ protein mPilZ-1753 bound to c-di-GMP and activated downstream sulfur oxidation pathways. During this process, polyphosphate kinase 2 (PPK2) affects the content of c-di-GMP by competing for GTP, thereby together c-di-GMP regulating ZVS production, as well as other metabolic processes in E. flavus 21-3. This study provides a novel insight into a deep-sea non-photosynthetic bacterium which sensing infrared light to regulate sulfur metabolism through a bacteriophytochrome photoreceptor, thus offering new understandings perspectives on microbial utilization of light energy.
Project description:Bacteria isolated from diverse environments were found to sense blue light to regulate their biological functions. However, this ability of deep-sea bacteria has been studied rarely. In this study, we found serendipitously that blue light stimulated excess zero-valent sulfur (ZVS) production of E. flavus 21-3, which was isolated from the deep-sea cold seep and possessed a novel thiosulfate oxidation pathway. Its ZVS production responding to the blue light was mediated by a light-oxygen-voltage histidine kinase (LOV-1477), a diguanylate cyclase (DGC-2902), a PilZ protein (mPilZ-1753) and the key thiosulfate dehydrogenase (TsdA) in its thiosulfate oxidation pathway. Subsequently, the thiosulfohydrolase (SoxB-277) was found working with another SoxB (SoxB-285) and being as substitute for each other to generate ZVS. This study provided an example of deep-sea bacteria sensing blue light to regulate thiosulfate oxidation. Deep-sea blue light potentially helped these blue-light-sensing bacteria adapt harsh conditions by diversifying their biological processes.
Project description:Microbial sulfur cycling and chemoautotrophy are focal points of research in cold seeps. However, limited culture-dependent and in-situ studies have described the biological features and ecological significance of chemoautotrophic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria. In this study, we isolated Guyparkeria hydrothermalis SP2, a thiosulfate/sulfide-oxidizing chemoautotrophic bacterium, from cold-seep sediment. Electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and stoichiometry confirmed the efficient production of zero-valent sulfur (ZVS) by G. hydrothermalis SP2. Genomic, transcriptomic, and qRT-PCR analyses revealed its utilization of the Sox pathway for thiosulfate oxidation and the fccB gene for sulfide oxidation. Its chemoautotrophic capability mediated by the Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) cycle was identified through isotopic and qRT-PCR analyses. In-situ studies demonstrated its ability to produce ZVS by oxidizing sulfide in cold seeps, with a preference for different genes compared to those under laboratory conditions. Metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses indicated the ubiquity of its sulfur oxidation-based chemoautotrophic pathway in cold seep sediments. Therefore, this strain holds significance for investigating sulfur oxidation-based chemoautotrophic pathways in cold seeps.