Are there multiple mechanisms of anaerobic sulfur oxidation with ferric iron in Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans?

To clarify the pathway of anaerobic sulfur oxidation coupled with dissimilatory ferric iron reduction in Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans strain CCM 4253 cells, we monitored their energy metabolism gene transcript profiles. Several genes encoding electron transporters involved in aerobic iron and sulf...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Research in microbiology 2016-06, Vol.167 (5), p.357-366
Main Authors: Kucera, Jiri, Pakostova, Eva, Lochman, Jan, Janiczek, Oldrich, Mandl, Martin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acidithiobacillus - genetics
Acidithiobacillus - metabolism
Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans
Anaerobic respiration pathway
Anaerobiosis
Energy Metabolism
Ferric Compounds - metabolism
Ferric iron reduction
Gene Expression Profiling
Metabolic Networks and Pathways - genetics
Oxidation-Reduction
Real-time quantitative PCR
Sulfur - metabolism
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:To clarify the pathway of anaerobic sulfur oxidation coupled with dissimilatory ferric iron reduction in Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans strain CCM 4253 cells, we monitored their energy metabolism gene transcript profiles. Several genes encoding electron transporters involved in aerobic iron and sulfur respiration were induced during anaerobic growth of ferrous iron-grown cells. Most sulfur metabolism genes were either expressed at the basal level or their expression declined. However, transcript levels of genes assumed to be responsible for processing of elemental sulfur and other sulfur intermediates were elevated at the beginning of the growth period. In contrast, genes with predicted functions in formation of hydrogen sulfide and sulfate were significantly repressed. The main proposed mechanism involves: outer membrane protein Cyc2 (assumed to function as a terminal ferric iron reductase); periplasmic electron shuttle rusticyanin; c4-type cytochrome CycA1; the inner membrane cytochrome bc1 complex I; and the quinone pool providing connection to the sulfur metabolism machinery, consisting of heterodisulfide reductase, thiosulfate:quinone oxidoreductase and tetrathionate hydrolase. However, an alternative mechanism seems to involve a high potential iron-sulfur protein Hip, c4-type cytochrome CycA2 and inner membrane cytochrome bc1 complex II. Our results conflict with findings regarding the type strain, indicating strain- or phenotype-dependent pathway variation.
ISSN:0923-2508
1769-7123
DOI:10.1016/j.resmic.2016.02.004