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Inorganic sulfur oxidizing system in green sulfur bacteria

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Abstract

Green sulfur bacteria use various reduced sulfur compounds such as sulfide, elemental sulfur, and thiosulfate as electron donors for photoautotrophic growth. This article briefly summarizes what is known about the inorganic sulfur oxidizing systems of these bacteria with emphasis on the biochemical aspects. Enzymes that oxidize sulfide in green sulfur bacteria are membrane-bound sulfide-quinone oxidoreductase, periplasmic (sometimes membrane-bound) flavocytochrome c sulfide dehydrogenase, and monomeric flavocytochrome c (SoxF). Some green sulfur bacteria oxidize thiosulfate by the multienzyme system called either the TOMES (thiosulfate oxidizing multi-enzyme system) or Sox (sulfur oxidizing system) composed of the three periplasmic proteins: SoxB, SoxYZ, and SoxAXK with a soluble small molecule cytochrome c as the electron acceptor. The oxidation of sulfide and thiosulfate by these enzymes in vitro is assumed to yield two electrons and result in the transfer of a sulfur atom to persulfides, which are subsequently transformed to elemental sulfur. The elemental sulfur is temporarily stored in the form of globules attached to the extracellular surface of the outer membranes. The oxidation pathway of elemental sulfur to sulfate is currently unclear, although the participation of several proteins including those of the dissimilatory sulfite reductase system etc. is suggested from comparative genomic analyses.

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Abbreviations

APS:

Adenosine phosphosulfate

cyt:

Cytochrome

FCSD:

Flavo-cytochrome c sulfide dehydrogenase

GSB:

Green sulfur bacteria

ISP:

Iron–sulfur protein

RC:

Reaction center

S0 :

Zero-valence sulfur

Sox:

Sulfur oxidizing enzyme system

SQR:

Sulfide-quinone reductase

TOMES:

Thiosulfate oxidizing multi-enzyme system

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Acknowledgment

We thank M. Kitashima for comparative genomic analyses and preparation of the figures. This work was supported in part by the Global COE Program (Integrative Life Science Based on the Study of Biosignaling Mechanisms) and by the High-tech Research Center project, MEXT, Japan to KI.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Institute for Photosynthetic Hydrogen Production, Kanagawa University, Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, 259-1293, Japan

    Hidehiro Sakurai & Kazuhito Inoue

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Kanagawa University, Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, 259-1293, Japan

    Michiko Shiga & Kazuhito Inoue

  3. Department of Biology, School of Education, Waseda University, Nishiwaseda, Shinjuku, Tokyo, 169-8050, Japan

    Hidehiro Sakurai

  4. Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan

    Takuro Ogawa & Kazuhito Inoue

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  1. Hidehiro Sakurai
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Correspondence to Kazuhito Inoue.

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Sakurai, H., Ogawa, T., Shiga, M. et al. Inorganic sulfur oxidizing system in green sulfur bacteria. Photosynth Res 104, 163–176 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-010-9531-2

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