Peptide and amino acid oxidation in the presence of thiosulfate by members of the genus Thermoanaerobacter

Thermoanaerobacter brockii, T. ethanolicus, T. thermohydrosulfuricus, T. finnii, and Thermoanaerobacter strain SEBR 5268 (an isolate from an oil-producing well) were studied for their ability to oxidize proteinaceous compounds that included gelatin, peptides, and casamino acids. All bacteria tested used peptides and amino acids, but only slightly. However, in the presence of thiosulfate all the Thermoanaerobacter species showed a substantial improvement in growth and/or the production of acetate, isovalerate, isobutyrate, and sulfide. Propionate was a minor product of peptide or amino acid oxidation. The reduction of thiosulfate during growth on peptides by members of the Thermoanaerobacter species is a trait that closely resembles that of archaeal hyperthermophiles during growth on peptides and amino acids with elemental sulfur as electron acceptor.     

Utilization of Serine, Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine byThermoanaerobacter brockiiin the Presence of Thiosulfate orMethanobacteriumsp. as Electron Acceptors

Thermoanaerobacter brockiifermented serine to acetate and ethanol. It oxidized leucine to isovalerate, isoleucine to 2-methylbutyrate, and valine to isobutyrate only in the presence of thiosulfate, or when co-cultured withMethanobacteriumsp. This oxidative deamination was rendered thermodynamically possible by the ability ofT. brockiito reduce thiosulfate to sulfide or the transfer of reducing equivalents to the hydrogenotrophic methanogen. The results suggest thatT. brockiimay be of ecological significance in thermal environments in the turnover of amino acids, especially with thiosulfate or H₂-utilizing methanogens are present.     

Oligonucleotide Probes for the Detection of Representatives of the Genus Thermoanaerobacter

Based on the analysis of 16S rRNA nucleotide sequences, oligonucleotide probes were designed for the detection of representatives of the genus Thermoanaerobacter. To increase the specificity of detection, the genus Thermoanaerobacter was divided into three groups. The probe Tab 827 (5"-GCTTCCGCDYCCCACACCTA-3") detected all known representatives of the genus Thermoanaerobacter; the probe Tab_1 844 (5"-TTAACTACGGCACGRAATGCTTC-3") was specific for the first group of species of the genus (T. wiegelii, T. siderophilus, T. sulfurophilus, T. brockii, T. kivui, T. ethanolicus, T. acetoethylicus, and T. thermohydrosulfuricus); the probe Tab_2 424 (5"-CACTAMYGGGGTTTACAACC-3") targeted the second group (T. thermocopriae, T. mathranii, and T. italicus); and the probe Tab_3 184 (5"-TCCTCCATCAGGATGCCCTA-3") was specific for the third group (T. tengcongensis, T. yonseiensis, T. subterraneus, and Carboxydibrachium pacificum, an organism related to the genus Thermoanaerobacter according to its 16S rRNA sequence). The oligonucleotide probes were labeled with Dig-11-dUTP. Hybridization with the probes showed the affiliation with Thermoanaerobacter of several pure cultures that were morphologically similar to representatives of this genus but possessed metabolic features unusual for it (capacity for agarose hydrolysis, anaerobic oxidation of CO, growth at low pH values) or were isolated from habitats previously unknown for Thermoanaerobacter (deep-sea hydrothermal vents).     

Thiosulfate oxidation by obligately heterotrophic bacteria

Thiosulfate was oxidized stoichiometrically to tetrathionate during growth on glucose byKlebsiella aerogenes, Bacillus globigii, B. megaterium, Pseudomonas putida, two strains each ofP. fluorescens andP. aeruginosa, and anAeromonas sp. A gram-negative, rod-shaped soil isolate, Pseudomonad H_w, converted thiosulfate to tetrathionate during growth on acetate. None of the organisms could use thiosulfate as sole energy source. The quantitative recovery of all the thiosulfate supplied to heterotrophic cultures either as tetrathionate alone or as tetrathionate and unused thiosulfate demonstrated that no oxidation to sulfate occurred with any of the strains tested. Two strains ofEscherichia coli did not oxidize thiosulfate. Thiosulfate oxidation in batch culture occurred at different stages of the growth cycle for different organisms:P. putida oxidized thiosulfate during lag and early exponential phase,K. aerogenes oxidized thiosulfate at all stages of growth, andB. megaterium andAeromonas oxidized thiosulfate during late exponential phase. The relative rates of oxidation byP. putida andK. aerogenes were apparently determined by different concentrations of thiosulfate oxidizing enzyme. Thiosulfate oxidation byP. aeruginosa grown in chemostat culture was inducible, since organisms pregrown on thiosulfate-containing media oxidized thiosulfate, but those pregrown on glucose only could not oxidize thiosulfate. Steady state growth yield ofP. aeruginosa in glucose-limited chemostat culture increased about 23% in the presence of 5–22 mM thiosulfate, with complete or partial concomitant oxidation to tetrathionate. The reasons for this stimulation are unclear. The results suggest that heterotrophic oxidation of thiosulfate to tetrathionate is widespread across several genera and may even stimulate bacterial growth in some organisms.     

Utilization of serine, leucine, isoleucine, and valine by Thermoanaerobacter brockii in the presence of thiosulfate or Methanobacterium sp. as electron acceptors

Thermoanaerobacter brockii fermented serine to acetate and ethanol. It oxidized leucine to isovalerate, isoleucine to 2-methylbutyrate, and valine to isobutyrate only in the presence of thiosulfate, or when co-cultured with Methanobacterium sp. This oxidative deamination was rendered thermodynamically possible by the ability ofT. brockii to reduce thiosulfate to sulfide or the transfer of reducing equivalents to the hydrogenotrophic methanogen. The results suggest that T. brockii may be of ecological significance in thermal environments in the turnover of amino acids, especially with thiosulfate or H(2)-utilizing methanogens are present.     

biochemical reaction mechanisms in sulfur oxidation by chemosynthetic bacteria

Summary Aspects of the biochemistry of the oxidation of inorganic sulfur compounds are discussed in thiobacilli but chiefly inThiobacillus denitrificans. Almost all of the thiobacilli (e.g. T. denitrificans, T. neapolitanus, T. novellus, andThiobacillus A ₂) were capable of producing approximately 7.5 moles of sulfuric acid aerobically from 3.75 moles of thiosulfate per gram of cellular protein per hr. By far the most prolific producer of sulfuric acid (or sulfates) from the anaerobic thiosulfate oxidation with nitrates wasT. denitrificans which was capable of producing 15 moles of sulfates from 7.5 moles of thiosulfate with concomitant reduction of 12 moles of nitrate resulting in the evolution of 6 moles of nitrogen gas/g protein/hr. The oxidation of sulfide was mediated by the flavo-protein system and cytochromes ofb, c, o, anda-type. This process was sensitive to flavoprotein inhibitors, antimycin A, and cyanide. The aerobic thiosulfate oxidation on the other hand involved cytochromec : O₂ oxidoreductase region of the electron transport chain and was sensitive to cyanide only. The anaerobic oxidation of thiosulfate byT. denitrificans, however, was severely inhibited by the flavoprotein inhibitors because of the splitting of the thiosulfate molecule into the sulfide and sulfite moieties produced by the thiosulfate-reductase. Accumulation of tetrathionate and to a small extent trithionate and pentathionate occurred during anaerobic growth ofT. denitrificans. These polythionates were subsequently oxidized to sulfate with the concomitant reduction of nitrate to N₂. Intact cell suspensions catalyzed the complete oxidation of sulfide, thiosulfate, tetrathionate, and sulfite to sulfate with the stoichiometric reduction of nitrate, nitrite, nitric oxide, and nitrous oxide to nitrogen gas thus indicating that NO₂ ⁻, NO, and N₂O are the possible intermediates in the denitrification of nitrate. This process was mediated by the cytochrome electron transport chain and was sensitive to the electron transfer inhibitors. The oxidation of sulfite involved cytochrome-linked sulfite oxidase as well as the APS-reductase pathways. The latter was absent inT. novellus andThiobacillus A ₂. In all of the thiobacilli the inner as well as the outer sulfur atoms of thiosulfate were oxidized at approximately the same rate by intact cells. The sulfide oxidation occurred in two stages: (a) a cellular-membrane-associated initial and rapid oxidation reaction which was dependent upon sulfide concentration, and (b) a slower oxidation reaction stage catalyzed by the cellfree extracts, probably involving polysulfides. InT. novellus andT. neapolitanus the oxidation of inorganic sulfur compounds is coupled to energy generation through oxidative phosphorylation, however, the reduction of pyridine nucleotides by sulfur compounds involved an energy-linked reversal of electron transfer. Paper read at the Symposium on the Sulphur Cycle, Wageningen, May 1974. Summary already inserted on p. 189 of the present volume.     

Oxidation of organic compounds to CO2 with sulfur or thiosulfate as electron acceptor in the anaerobic hyperthermophilic archaea Thermoproteus tenax and Pyrobaculum islandicum proceeds via the citric acid cycle

The oxidation of organic compounds with elemental sulfur or thiosulfate as electron acceptor was studied in the anaerobic hyperthermophilic archaea Thermoproteus tenax and Pyrobaculum islandicum. T. tenax was grown on either glucose or casamino acids and sulfur; P. islandicum on peptone and either elemental sulfur or thiosulfate as electron acceptor. During exponential growth only CO₂ and H₂S rather than acetate, alanine, lactate, and succinate were detected as fermentation products of both organisms; the ratio of CO₂/H₂S formed was 1:2 with elemental sulfur and 1:1 with thiosulfate as electron acceptor. Cell extracts of T. tenax and P. islandicum contained all enzymes of the citric acid cycle in catabolic activities: citrate synthase, aconitase, isocitrate dehydrogenase (NADP⁺-reducing), oxoglutarate: benzylviologen oxidoreductase, succinyl-CoA synthetase, succinate dehydrogenase, fumarase and malate dehydrogenase (NAD⁺-reducing). Carbon monoxide dehydrogenase activity was not detected. We conclude that in T. tenax and P. islandicum organic compounds are completely oxidized to CO₂ with sulfur or thiosulfate as electron acceptor and that acetyl-CoA oxidation to CO₂ proceeds via the citric acid cycle.     

Co-cultivation of Thermoanaerobacter strains with a methanogenic partner enhances glycerol conversion

Glycerol-rich waste streams produced by the biodiesel, bioethanol and oleochemical industries can be treated and valorized by anaerobic microbial communities to produce methane. As current knowledge of the microorganisms involved in thermophilic glycerol conversion to methane is scarce, thermophilic glycerol-degrading methanogenic communities were enriched. A co-culture of Thermoanaerobacter and Methanothermobacter species was obtained, pointing to a non-obligately syntrophic glycerol degradation. This hypothesis was further studied by incubating Thermoanaerobacter brockii subsp. finnii and T. wiegelii with glycerol (10 mM) in pure culture and with different hydrogenotrophic methanogens. The presence of the methanogen accelerated glycerol fermentation by the two Thermoanaerobacter strains up to 3.3 mM day⁻¹, corresponding to 12 times higher volumetric glycerol depletion rates in the methanogenic co-cultures than in the pure bacterial cultures. The catabolic pathways of glycerol conversion were identified by genome analysis of the two Thermoanaerobacter strains. NADH and reduced ferredoxin formed in the pathway are linked to proton reduction, which becomes thermodynamically favourable when the hydrogen partial pressure is kept low by the hydrogenotrophic methanogenic partner.     

Ethanol Production by Thermophilic Bacteria: Relationship Between Fermentation Product Yields of and Catabolic Enzyme Activities in Clostridium thermocellum and Thermoanaerobium brockii

Significant quantitative differences in end-product yields by two strains of Clostridium thermocellum and one strain of Thermoanaerobium brockii were observed during cellobiose fermentation. Most notably, the ethanol/H₂ and lactate/acetate ratios were drastically higher for T. brockii as compared with C. thermocellum strains LQRI and AS39. Exogenous H₂ addition (0.4 to 1.0 atm) during culture growth increased the ethanol/acetate ratio of both T. brockii and AS39 but had no effect on LQRI. All strains had an operative Embden-Meyerhof glycolytic pathway and displayed catabolic activities of fructose-1,6-diphosphate–activated lactate dehydrogenase, coenzyme A acetylating pyruvate and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, hydrogenase, ethanol dehydrogenase, and acetate kinase. Enzyme kinetic properties (apparent K_m, V_max, and Q₁₀ values) and the specificity of electron donors/acceptors for different oxidoreductases involved in pyruvate conversion to fermentation products were compared in the three strains. Both species contained ferredoxin-linked pyruvate dehydrogenase and pyridine nucleotide oxidoreductases. Ferredoxin-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) reductase activity was significantly higher in T. brockii than in AS39 and was not detectable in LQRI. H₂ production and hydrogenase activity were inversely related to ferredoxin-NAD reductase activity in the three strains. Ferredoxin-NAD phosphate reductase activity was present in cell extracts of both species. Alcohol dehydrogenase activity in C. thermocellum was NAD dependent, unidirectional, and inhibited by low concentrations of NAD and ethanol. Ethanol dehydrogenase activity of T. brockii was both NAD and NADP linked, reversible, and not inhibited by low levels of reaction products. The high lactate yield of T. brockii correlated with increased fructose-1,6-diphosphate. The relation of catabolic enzyme activity and quantitative differences in intracellular electron flow and fermentation product yields of these thermophilic bacteria is discussed.     

A sulfate-reducing bacterium from the oxic layer of a microbial mat from Solar Lake (Sinai), Desulfovibrio oxyclinae sp. nov.

In an investigation on the oxygen tolerance of sulfate-reducing bacteria, a strain was isolated from a 10⁷-fold dilution of the upper 3-mm layer of a hypersaline cyanobacterial mat (transferred from Solar Lake, Sinai). The isolate, designated P1B, appeared to be well-adapted to the varying concentrations of oxygen and sulfide that occur in this environment. In the presence of oxygen strain P1B respired aerobically with the highest rates [260 nmol O₂ min^–1 (mg protein)^–1] found so far among marine sulfate-reducing bacteria. Besides H₂ and lactate, even sulfide or sulfite could be oxidized with oxygen. The sulfur compounds were completely oxidized to sulfate. Under anoxic conditions, it grew with sulfate, sulfite, or thiosulfate as the electron acceptor using H₂, lactate, pyruvate, ethanol, propanol, or butanol as the electron donor. Furthermore, in the absence of electron donors the isolate grew by disproportionation of sulfite or thiosulfate to sulfate and sulfide. The highest respiration rates with oxygen were obtained with H₂ at low oxygen concentrations. Aerobic growth of homogeneous suspensions was not obtained. Additions of 1% oxygen to the gas phase of a continuous culture resulted in the formation of cell clumps wherein the cells remained viable for at least 200 h. It is concluded that strain P1B is oxygen-tolerant but does not carry out sulfate reduction in the presence of oxygen under the conditions tested. Analysis of the 16S rDNA sequence indicated that strain P1B belongs to the genus Desulfovibrio, with Desulfovibrio halophilus as its closest relative. Based on physiological properties strain P1B could not be assigned to this species. Therefore, a new species, Desulfovibrio oxyclinae, is proposed. Received: 7 August 1996 / Accepted: 29 January 1997     

Oxidation of dimethylsulfide to tetrathionate by Methylophaga thiooxidans sp. nov.: a new link in the sulfur cycle

A new pathway of dimethylsulfide (DMS) metabolism was identified in a novel species of Gammaproteobacteria, Methylophaga thiooxidans sp. nov., in which tetrathionate (S₄O₆^2?) was the end‐product of DMS oxidation. Inhibitor evidence indicated that DMS degradation was initiated by demethylation, catalysed by a corrinoid demethylase. Thiosulfate was an intermediate, which was oxidized to tetrathionate by a cytochrome‐linked thiosulfate dehydrogenase. Thiosulfate oxidation was coupled to ATP synthesis, and M. thiooxidans could also use exogenous thiosulfate as an energy source during chemolithoheterotrophic growth on DMS or methanol. Cultures grown on a variety of substrates oxidized thiosulfate, indicating that thiosulfate oxidation was constitutive. The observations have relevance to interactions among sulfur‐metabolizing bacteria in the marine environment. The production of tetrathionate from an organosulfur precursor is previously undocumented and represents a potential step in the biogeochemical sulfur cycle, providing a ‘shunt’ across the cycle.     

Anaerobic oxidation of fatty acids by Clostridium bryantii sp. nov., a sporeforming,obligately syntrophic bacterium

From marine and freshwater mud samples strictly anaerobic, Gram-positive, sporeforming bacteria were isolated which oxidized fatty acids in obligately syntrophic association with H₂-utilizing bacteria. Even-numbered fatty acids with up to 10 carbon atoms were degraded to acetate and H₂, odd-numbered fatty acids with up to 11 carbon atoms including 2-methylbutyrate were degraded to acetate, propionate and H₂. Neither fumarate, sulfate, thiosulfate, sullur, nor nitrate were reduced. A marine isolate, strain CuCal, is described as type strain of a new species, Clostridium bryantii sp. nov.     

The functional role of reduced inorganic sulfur compounds in the metabolism of the microaerophilic bacterium <Emphasis Type="Italic">Spirillum winogradskii</Emphasis>

Oxidation of reduced sulfur compounds by the microaerophilic sulfur bacterium spirillum winogradskii was found to occur only concomitantly with consumption of an organic substrate and was not linked to their utilization as electron donors in energy metabolism. No enzymes of dissimilatory sulfur metabolism were found in the cells of the sulfur bacterium oxidizing thiosulfate to tetrathionate; oxidation of thiosulfate and sulfide was caused by their reaction with reactive oxygen species (ROSs), mostly H₂O₂ produced in the course of aerobic growth. A decreased lytic effect of ROSs in the presence of thiosulfate resulted in a twofold increase in the cell yield under aerobic conditions and more efficient substrate utilization. The latter effect was caused by decreased expenditure of energy for the biosynthesis of oxygen-protective polysaccharides. The stimulatory effect of thiosulfate on the growth processes was due to the activation of a number of TCA cycle enzymes producing the intermediates for constructive metabolism, especially of the NADP-dependent malic enzyme. As a result of thiosulfate-induced synthesis of SH-containing cell components, the integral antioxidative activity increased 1.5-fold.Translated from Mikrobiologiya, Vol. 74, No. 1, 2005, pp. 17–25.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Podkopaeva, Grabovich, Dubinina.     

Oxidation of H2, organic compounds and inorganic sulfur compounds coupled to reduction of O2 or nitrate by sulfate-reducing bacteria

All of fourteen sulfate-reducing bacteria tested were able to carry out aerobic respiration with at least one of the following electron donors: H₂, lactate, pyruvate, formate, acetate, butyrate, ethanol, sulfide, thiosulfate, sulfite. Generally, we did not obtain growth with O₂ as electron acceptor. The bacteria were microaerophilic, since the respiration rates increased with decreasing O₂ concentrations or ceased after repeated O₂ additions. The amounts of O₂ consumed indicated that the organic substrates were oxidized incompletely to acetate; only Desulfobacter postgatei oxidized acetate with O₂ completely to CO₂. Many of the strains oxidized sulfite (completely to sulfate) or sulfide (incompletely, except Desulfobulbus propionicus); thiosulfate was oxidized only by strains of Desulfovibrio desulfuricans; trithionate and tetrathionate were not oxidized by any of the strains. With Desulfovibrio desulfuricans CSN and Desulfobulbus propionicus the oxidation of inorganic sulfur compounds was characterized in detail. D. desulfuricans formed sulfate during oxidation of sulfite, thiosulfate or elemental sulfur prepared from polysulfide. D. propionicus oxidized sulfite and sulfide to sulfate, and elemental sulfur mainly to thiosulfate. A novel pathway that couples the sulfur and nitrogen cycles was detected: D. desulfuricans and (only with nitrite) D. propionicus were able to completely oxidize sulfide coupled to the reduction of nitrate or nitrite to ammonia. Cell-free extracts of both strains did not oxidize sulfide or thiosulfate, but formed ATP during oxidation of sulfite (37 nmol per 100 nmol sulfite). This, and the effects of AMP, pyrophosphate and molybdate on sulfite oxidation, suggested that sulfate is formed via the (reversed) sulfate activation pathway (involving APS reductase and ATP sulfurylase). Thiosulfate oxidation with O₂ probably required a reductive first step, since it was obtained only with energized intact cells.Abbreviations CCCP carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone - APS adenosine phosphosulfate or adenylyl sulfate     

Isolation and characterization of a new CO-utilizing strain, Thermoanaerobacter thermohydrosulfuricus subsp. carboxydovorans, isolated from a geothermal spring in Turkey

A novel anaerobic, thermophilic, Gram-positive, spore-forming, and sugar-fermenting bacterium (strain TLO) was isolated from a geothermal spring in Ayaş, Turkey. The cells were straight to curved rods, 0.4–0.6 μm in diameter and 3.5–10 μm in length. Spores were terminal and round. The temperature range for growth was 40–80°C, with an optimum at 70°C. The pH optimum was between 6.3 and 6.8. Strain TLO has the capability to ferment a wide variety of mono-, di-, and polysaccharides and proteinaceous substrates, producing mainly lactate, next to acetate, ethanol, alanine, H₂, and CO₂. Remarkably, the bacterium was able to grow in an atmosphere of up to 25% of CO as sole electron donor. CO oxidation was coupled to H₂ and CO₂ formation. The G + C content of the genomic DNA was 35.1 mol%. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and the DNA–DNA hybridization data, this bacterium is most closely related to Thermoanaerobacter thermohydrosulfuricus and Thermoanaerobacter siderophilus (99% similarity for both). However, strain TLO differs from Thermoanaerobacter thermohydrosulfuricus in important aspects, such as CO-utilization and lipid composition. These differences led us to propose that strain TLO represents a subspecies of Thermoanaerobacter thermohydrosulfuricus, and we therefore name it Thermoanaerobacter thermohydrosulfuricus subsp. carboxydovorans.     

Hydrogen production by the hyperthermophilic bacterium <Emphasis Type="Italic">Thermotoga maritima</Emphasis> part I: effects of sulfured nutriments,with thiosulfate as model,on hydrogen production and growth

Background

Thermotoga maritima and T. neapolitana are hyperthermophile bacteria chosen by many research teams to produce bio-hydrogen because of their potential to ferment a wide variety of sugars with the highest theoretical H₂/glucose yields. However, to develop economically sustainable bio-processes, the culture medium formulation remained to be optimized. The main aim of this study was to quantify accurately and specifically the effect of thiosulfate, used as sulfured nutriment model, on T. maritima growth, yields and productivities of hydrogen. The results were obtained from batch cultures, performed into a bioreactor, carefully controlled, and specifically designed to prevent the back-inhibition by hydrogen.

Results

Among sulfured nutriments tested, thiosulfate, cysteine, and sulfide were found to be the most efficient to stimulate T. maritima growth and hydrogen production. In particular, under our experimental conditions (glucose 60 mmol L^?1 and yeast extract 1 g L^?1), the cellular growth was limited by thiosulfate concentrations lower than 0.06 mmol L^?1. Under these conditions, the cellular yield on thiosulfate (Y X/Thio) could be determined at 3617 mg mmol^?1. In addition, it has been shown that the limitations of T. maritima growth by thiosulfate lead to metabolic stress marked by a significant metabolic shift of glucose towards the production of extracellular polysaccharides (EPS). Finally, it has been estimated that the presence of thiosulfate in the T. maritima culture medium significantly increased the cellular and hydrogen productivities by a factor 6 without detectable sulfide production.

Conclusions

The stimulant effects of thiosulfate at very low concentrations on T. maritima growth have forced us to reconsider its role in this species and more probably also in all thiosulfato-reducer hyperthermophiles. Henceforth, thiosulfate should be considered in T. maritima as (1) an essential sulfur source for cellular materials when it is present at low concentrations (about 0.3 mmol g^?1 of cells), and (2) as both sulfur source and detoxifying agent for H₂ when thiosulfate is present at higher concentrations and, when, simultaneously, the pH₂ is high. Finally, to improve the hydrogen production in bio-processes using Thermotoga species, it should be recommended to incorporate thiosulfate in the culture medium.

     

Studies on dissimilatory sulfate-reducing bacteria that decompose fatty acids

Three strains (2ac9, 3ac10 and 4ac11) of oval to rodshaped, Gram negative, nonsporing sulfate-reducing bacteria were isolated from brackish water and marine mud samples with acetate as sole electron donor. All three strains grew in simple defined media supplemented with biotin and 4-aminobenzoic acid as growth factors. Acetate was the only electron donor utilized by strain 2ac9, while the other two strains used in addition ethanol and/or lactate. Sulfate served as electron acceptor and was reduced to H₂S. Complete oxidation of acetate to CO₂ was shown by stoichiometric measurements with strain 2ac9 in batch cultures using sulfate, sulfite or thiosulfate as electron acceptors. With sulfate an average growth yield of 4.8 g cell dry weight was obtained per mol of acetate oxidized; with sulfite or thiosulfate the growth yield on acetate was about twice as high. None of the strains contained desulfoviridin. In strain 2ac9 cytochromes of the b- and c-type were detected. Strain 2ac9 is described as type strain of the new species and genus, Desulfobacter postgatei.     

Nutritional interdependence betweenThermoanaerobacter thermohydrosulfuricus andClostridium thermocellum

Thermoanaerobacter thermohydrosulfuricus strain YM3 and Clostridium thermocellum strain YM4, obtained originally as a stable coculture, required yeast extract to grow separately. Cell-free broths of T. thermohydrosulfuricus strain YM3 and C. thermocellum strain YM4 monocultures replaced yeast extract in supporting the growth of strains YM4 and YM3, respectively. T. thermohydrosulfuricus strain YM3 produced vitamin B₆, B₁₂ analog(s), p-aminobenzoic acid and folic acid, which were required by C. thermocellum strain YM4. Likewise, strain YM4 produced niacin-active compound(s), thiamine, and methionine required by strain YM3. Received: 17 March 1995 / Accepted: 27 March 1995     

Thiosulfate and tetrathionate degradation as well as biofilm generation by Thiobacillus intermedius and Thiobacillus versutus studied by microcalorimetry,HPLC, and ion-pair chromatography

The growth of Thiobacillus (T.) intermedius strain K12 and Thiobacillus versutus strain DSM 582 on thiosulfate and tetrathionate was studied combining on-line measurements of metabolic activity and sulfur compound analysis. Most results indicate that T. intermedius oxidized thiosulfate via tetrathionate to sulfate. Concomittantly, sulfur compound intermediates like triand pentathionate were detectable. The formation is probably the result of highly reactive sulfane monosulfonic acids. The formation of tetrathionate allows the cells to buffer temporarily the proton excretion from sulfuric acid production. With T. versutus intermediate sulfur compounds were not detectable, however, sulfur was detectable. The possibility of a thiosulfate oxidation via dithionate, S₂O _inf6 ^sup2- , is discussed. The on-line measurement of metabolic activity by microcalorimetry enabled us to detect that cells of T. intermedius adhere to surfaces and produce a biofilm by a metabolic process whereas those of T. versutus fail to do so. The importance of the finding is discussed.