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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: mic.0.027904-0v1 155/8/2766    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Google Scholar Articles by Franz, B. Articles by Prange, A. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Franz, B. Articles by Prange, A. Agricola Articles by Franz, B. Articles by Prange, A.

Unexpected extracellular and intracellular sulfur species during growth of Allochromatium vinosum with reduced sulfur compounds

¹ Hochschule Niederrhein, Mikrobiologie und Lebensmittelhygiene, Rheydter Straße 277, 41065 Mönchengladbach, Germany
² Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Institut für Mikrobiologie & Biotechnologie, Meckenheimer Allee 168, 53115 Bonn, Germany
³ Louisiana State University, The J. Bennett Johnston, Sr Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices (CAMD), 6980 Jefferson Highway, Baton Rouge, LA 70806, USA
⁴ University of Saskatchewan, Canadian Light Source Inc. (CLS), 101 Perimeter Road, Saskatoon, SK S7N 0X4, Canada

Before its uptake and oxidation by purple sulfur bacteria, elemental sulfur probably first has to be mobilized. To obtain more insight into this mobilization process in the phototrophic purple sulfur bacterium Allochromatium vinosum, we used HPLC analysis and X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy for the detection and identification of sulfur compounds in culture supernatants and bacterial cells. We intended to identify soluble sulfur compounds that specifically occur during growth on elemental sulfur, and therefore compared spectra of cultures grown on sulfur with those of cultures grown on sulfide or thiosulfate. While various unexpected oxidized organic sulfur species (sulfones, C–SO₂–C, and sulfonates, ) were observed via XANES spectroscopy in the supernatants, we obtained evidence for the presence of monosulfane sulfonic acids inside the bacterial cells by HPLC analysis. The concentrations of the latter compounds showed a tight correlation with the content of intracellular sulfur, reaching their maximum when sulfur began to be oxidized. None of the detected sulfur compounds appeared to be a specific soluble intermediate or product of elemental sulfur mobilization. It therefore seems unlikely that mobilization of elemental sulfur by purple sulfur bacteria involves excretion of soluble sulfur-containing substances that would be able to act on substrate distant from the cells.

Correspondence
Alexander Prange (biophysical aspects)
A.Prange{at}gmx.de
or
Christiane Dahl (biological aspects)
ChDahl{at}uni-bonn.de