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Conditions for vigorous growth on sulfide and reactor-scale cultivation protocols for the thermophilic green sulfur bacterium chlorobium tepidum

We describe a reactor-scale cultivation protocol for the fastest-growing and only known thermophilic member of the family Chlorobiaceae, Chlorobium tepidum. We discovered that C. tepidum would grow with sulfide as the sole electron source at rates and with final cell yields comparable to those found with thiosulfate only if the sulfide concentration was maintained below 0.1 mM and the culture redox potential was at -300 +/- 20 mV. Such was also the requirement for growth in a photobioreactor when thiosulfate (optimum level, 12 mM) was used as the preferred electron source. For cultivation of C. tepidum on a 5- to 500-ml scale, we used the system of Balch and Wolfe (Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 32:781-791, 1976) using stopper-sealed serum tubes and bottles as an alternative to the methods commonly used for the cultivation of phototrophic anaerobes and obtained consistent results.

Journal Article↗

Sulfidogenesis from 2-aminoethanesulfonate (taurine) fermentation by a morphologically unusual sulfate-reducing bacterium, Desulforhopalus singaporensis sp. nov.

A pure culture of an obligately anaerobic marine bacterium was obtained from an anaerobic enrichment culture in which taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonate) was the sole source of carbon, energy, and nitrogen. Taurine fermentation resulted in acetate, ammonia, and sulfide as end products. Other sulfonates, including 2-hydroxyethanesulfonate (isethionate) and cysteate (alanine-3-sulfonate), were not fermented. When malate was the sole source of carbon and energy, the bacterium reduced sulfate, sulfite, thiosulfate, or nitrate (reduced to ammonia) but did not use fumarate or dimethyl sulfoxide as a terminal electron acceptor for growth. Taurine-grown cells had significantly lower adenylylphosphosulfate reductase activities than sulfate-grown cells had, which was consistent with the notion that sulfate was not released as a result of oxidative C-S bond cleavage and then assimilated. The name Desulforhopalus singaporensis is proposed for this sulfate-reducing bacterium, which is morphologically unusual compared to the previously described sulfate-reducing bacteria by virtue of the spinae present on the rod-shaped, gram-negative, nonmotile cells; endospore formation was not discerned, nor was desulfoviridin detected. Granules of poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate were abundant in taurine-grown cells. This organism shares with the other member of the genus Desulforhopalus which has been described a unique 13-base deletion in the 16S ribosomal DNA. It differs in several ways from a recently described endospore-forming anaerobe (K. Denger, H. Laue, and A. M. Cook, Arch. Microbiol. 168:297-301, 1997) that reportedly produces thiosulfate but not sulfide from taurine fermentation. D. singaporensis thus appears to be the first example of an organism which exhibits sulfidogenesis during taurine fermentation. Implications for sulfonate sulfur in the sulfur cycle are discussed.

Bacteria↗

Role for outer membrane cytochromes OmcA and OmcB of Shewanella putrefaciens MR-1 in reduction of manganese dioxide.

Shewanella putrefaciens MR-1 can use a wide variety of terminal electron acceptors for anaerobic respiration, including certain insoluble manganese and iron oxides. To examine whether the outer membrane (OM) cytochromes of MR-1 play a role in Mn(IV) and Fe(III) reduction, mutants lacking the OM cytochrome OmcA or OmcB were isolated by gene replacement. Southern blotting and PCR confirmed replacement of the omcA and omcB genes, respectively, and reverse transcription-PCR analysis demonstrated loss of the respective mRNAs, whereas mRNAs for upstream and downstream genes were retained. The omcA mutant (OMCA1) resembled MR-1 in its growth on trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), dimethyl sulfoxide, nitrate, fumarate, thiosulfate, and tetrathionate and its reduction of nitrate, nitrite, ferric citrate, FeOOH, and anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonic acid. Similarly, the omcB mutant (OMCB1) grew on fumarate, nitrate, TMAO, and thiosulfate and reduced ferric citrate and FeOOH. However, OMCA1 and OMCB1 were 45 and 75% slower than MR-1, respectively, at reducing MnO(2). OMCA1 lacked only OmcA. While OMCB1 lacked OmcB, other OM cytochromes were also missing or markedly depressed. The total cytochrome content of the OM of OMCB1 was less than 15% of that of MR-1. Western blots demonstrated that OMCB1 still synthesized OmcA, but most of it was localized in the cytoplasmic membrane and soluble fractions rather than in the OM. OMCB1 had therefore lost the ability to properly localize multiple OM cytochromes to the OM. Together, the results suggest that the OM cytochromes of MR-1 participate in the reduction of Mn(IV) but are not required for the reduction of Fe(III) or other electron acceptors.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Growth of Rhodosporidium toruloides strain DBVPG 6662 on dibenzothiophene crystals and orimulsion.

Strains DBVPG 6662 and DBVPG 6739 of Rhodosporidium toruloides, a basidiomycete yeast, grew on thiosulfate as a sulfur source and glucose (2 g liter(-1) or 10.75 mM) as a carbon source. DBVPG 6662 has a defective sulfate transport system, whereas DBVPG 6739 barely grew on sulfate. They were compared for the ability to use dibenzothiophene (DBT) and related organic sulfur compounds as sulfur sources. In the presence of glucose as a carbon source and DBT as a sulfur source, strain DBVPG 6662 grew better than DBVPG 6739. In the presence of thiosulfate as a sulfur source, the two yeast strains did not use DBT, DBT-sulfone, benzenesulfonic acid, biphenyl, and fluorene. When the two strains were grown in the presence of glucose, strain DBVPG 6662 transformed 27% of the DBT present (10 micro M) at a rate of 0.023 micro mol liter(-1) h(-1) in 36 h. Traces of 2,2'-dihydroxylated biphenyl were transiently accumulated under these conditions. When the same strain was grown on glucose in the presence of a higher concentration of DBT (0.5 g liter(-1)), mainly in an insoluble form, the whole surface of the DBT crystals was colonized by a thick mycelium. This adherent structure was imaged by confocal microscopy with fluorescent concanavalin A, a lectin that specifically binds glucose and mannose residues. When DBVPG 6662 was grown on glucose in the presence of a commercial emulsion of bitumen, i.e., orimulsion, 68% of the benzo- and dibenzothiophenes and DBTs was removed after 15 days of incubation. The fungus adhered by hyphae to orimulsion droplets. When cultivated in the presence of commercial emulsifier-free fuel oil containing alkylated benzothiophenes and DBTs and having a composition similar to that of orimulsion, strain DBVPG 6662 removed only 11% of the total organic sulfur that occurs in the medium and did not adhere to the oil droplets. These results indicate that strain DBVPG 6662 is able to utilize the organic sulfur of DBT and a large variety of thiophenic compounds that occur extensively in commercial fuel oils by physically adhering to the organic sulfur source.

Basidiomycota↗

Differential protein expression during growth of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans on ferrous iron, sulfur compounds, or metal sulfides.

A set of proteins that changed their levels of synthesis during growth of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans ATCC 19859 on metal sulfides, thiosulfate, elemental sulfur, and ferrous iron was characterized by using two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. N-terminal amino acid sequencing and mass spectrometry analysis of these proteins allowed their identification and the localization of the corresponding genes in the available genomic sequence of A. ferrooxidans ATCC 23270. The genomic context around several of these genes suggests their involvement in the energetic metabolism of A. ferrooxidans. Two groups of proteins could be distinguished. The first consisted of proteins highly upregulated by growth on sulfur compounds (and downregulated by growth on ferrous iron): a 44-kDa outer membrane protein, an exported 21-kDa putative thiosulfate sulfur transferase protein, a 33-kDa putative thiosulfate/sulfate binding protein, a 45-kDa putative capsule polysaccharide export protein, and a putative 16-kDa protein of unknown function. The second group of proteins comprised those downregulated by growth on sulfur (and upregulated by growth on ferrous iron): rusticyanin, a cytochrome c(552), a putative phosphate binding protein (PstS), the small and large subunits of ribulose biphosphate carboxylase, and a 30-kDa putative CbbQ protein, among others. The results suggest in general a separation of the iron and sulfur utilization pathways. Rusticyanin, in addition to being highly expressed on ferrous iron, was also newly synthesized, as determined by metabolic labeling, although at lower levels, during growth on sulfur compounds and iron-free metal sulfides. During growth on metal sulfides containing iron, such as pyrite and chalcopyrite, both proteins upregulated on ferrous iron and those upregulated on sulfur compounds were synthesized, indicating that the two energy-generating pathways are induced simultaneously depending on the kind and concentration of oxidizable substrates available.

Acidithiobacillus↗

Regulation of glucose metabolism in Thiobacillus intermedius.

Glucose-yeast extract or glucose-casein hydrolysate-grown Thiobacillus intermedius cells, which use glucose for energy generation, possess high specific activities of the Entner-Doudoroff pathway and related enzymes, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrase, 2-keto-3-deoxy-6-phosphogluconate aldolase, glucokinase, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, but low activities of enzymes unique to the pentose shunt and Embden-Meyerhof pathways. Although the synthesis of the latter enzymes remains largely unaffected by the growth environment, that of the former is stimulated by glucose. Radiorespirometric measurements demonstrate an early and parallel respiration of glucose carbon atoms one and four in glucose-casein hydrolysate broth. It is concluded that the Entner-Doudoroff pathway performs an energetic role in glucose metabolism by T. intermedius with the pentose shunt and Embden-Meyerhof pathways functioning mainly in biosynthesis. The presence of thiosulfate in the growth medium inhibits the synthesis of the Entner-Doudoroff pathway and related enzymes. In addition, both thiosulfate and glucose inhibit the synthesis of the Krebs cycle enzymes, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-linked isocitrate and alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenases. Thus, repression of enzymes is of significance in the adaptation of T. intermedius to its nutritional environment. The activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase of T. intermedius is inhibited by adenosine triphosphate. Such a control could afford the organism a mechanism to regulate the flow of glucose into major energetic and biosynthetic routes.

Carbon Dioxide↗

Growth Inhibition in Thiobacillus neapolitanus by Histidine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, and Threonine.

Thiobacillus neapolitanus, a strict chemoautotroph, is sensitive to the addition of 10(-4)m methionine, histidine, threonine, or phenylalanine to the thiosulfate medium on which it grows. When histidine, threonine, or phenylalanine are added at the time of inoculation, spontaneous mutants tolerant to the three amino acids are selected. These mutants appear to result from a single genetic change; of 18 independently isolated histidine-tolerant mutants, all are also tolerant to phenylalanine and threonine. The uptake of (14)C-phenylalanine into exponentially growing cells of one such mutant is negligible in contrast with the uptake observed in the phenylalanine-sensitive parent. The addition of methionine to the medium slows growth, but spontaneous mutants are not selected. Inhibition of growth by these amino acids is observed only under conditions of amino acid imbalance; the addition of an equimolar mixture of 16 amino acids, in which each component is present at a concentration of 10(-3)m, causes no inhibition. Histidine and threonine inhibition may be released by equimolar amounts of any one of seven amino acids: serine, alanine, glycine, leucine, valine, tryptophan, or tyrosine; histidine inhibition is also released by isoleucine, and threonine inhibition by methionine. None of the inhibiting amino acids inhibits oxidation of thiosulfate in cell suspensions. A group of hexoses, pentoses, and Krebs cycle intermediates were tested for inhibition of growth or release of inhibition by histidine, phenylalanine, or threonine, but no effects, either inhibition or relief of inhibition, were found.

Journal Article↗

Physiological function of hydrogen metabolism during growth of sulfidogenic bacteria on organic substrates.

Desulfovibrio vulgaris Madison and Thermodesulfobacterium commune contained functionally distinct hydrogenase activities, one which exchanged 3H2 into 3H2O and was inhibited by carbon monoxide and a second activity which produced H2 in the presence of CO. Cell suspensions of D. vulgaris used either lactate, pyruvate, or CO as the electron donor for H2 production in the absence of sulfate. Both sulfidogenic species produced and consumed hydrogen as a trace gas during growth on lactate or pyruvate as electron donors and on thiosulfate or sulfate as electron acceptors. Higher initial levels of hydrogen were detected during growth on lactate-sulfate than on pyruvate-sulfate. D. vulgaris but not T. commune also produced and then consumed CO during growth on organic electron donors and sulfate or thiosulfate. High partial pressures of exogenous H2 inhibited growth and substrate consumption when D. vulgaris was cultured on pyruvate alone but not when it was metabolizing pyruvate plus sulfate or lactate plus sulfate. The data are discussed in relation to supporting two different models for the physiological function of H2 metabolism during growth of sulfidogenic bacteria on organic electron donors plus sulfate. A trace H2 transformation model is proposed for control of redox processes during growth on either pyruvate or lactate plus sulfate, and an obligate H2 cycling model is proposed for chemiosmotic energy coupling during growth on CO plus sulfate.

Bacteria↗

Characterization of a trithionate reductase system from Desulfovibrio vulgaris.

A trithionate reductase system was isolated and purified from extracts of Desulfovibrio vulgaris. This system reduced trithionate to thiosulfate and consisted of two proteins. One was bisulfite reductase, an enzyme that reduces bisulfite to trithionate, and the second component was designated TR-1. Both enzymes were required to reduce trithionate to thiosulfate. Flavodoxin and cytochrome c3 from D. vulgaris were tested for their ability to function as electron carriers during trithionate reduction. When molecular hydrogen was the source of electrons for the reduction, both flavodoxin and cytochrome c3 were required. In contrast, when the pyruvate phosphoroclastic system was the reductant, flavodoxin alone participated as the electron carrier. The results indicate that flavodoxin, but not cytochrome c3, interacted with the trithionate reductase system. The cytochrome in the hydrogenase-linked assay functioned as an electron carrier between hydrogenase and flavodoxin.

Cytochrome c Group↗

O2-dependent methionine auxotrophy in Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase-deficient mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Mutant strains of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae which lack functional Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD-1) do not grow aerobically unless supplemented with methionine. The molecular basis of this O2-dependent auxotrophy in one of the mutants, Dscd1-1C, has been investigated. Sulfate supported anaerobic but not aerobic mutant growth. On the other hand, cysteine and homocysteine supported aerobic growth while serine, O-acetylserine, and homoserine did not, indicating that the interconversion of cysteine and methionine (and homocysteine) was not impaired. Thiosulfate (S2O3(2-] and sulfide (S2-) also supported aerobic growth; the activities of thiosulfate reductase and sulfhydrylase in the aerobic mutant strain were at wild-type levels. Although the levels of SO4(2-) and adenosine-5'-sulfate (the first intermediate in the SO4(2-) assimilation pathway) were elevated in the aerobically incubated mutant strain, this condition could be attributed to a decrease in protein synthesis caused by the de facto sulfur starvation and not to a block in the pathway. Therefore, the activation of SO4(2-) (to form 3'-phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphosulfate) appeared to be O2 tolerant. Sulfite reductase activity and substrate concentrations [( NADPH] and [SO3(2-)]) were not significantly different in aerobically grown mutant cultures and anaerobic cultures, indicating that SOD-1- mutant strains could reductively assimilate sulfur oxides. However, the mutant strain exhibited an O2-dependent sensitivity to SO3(2-) concentrations of less than 50 microM not exhibited by any SOD-1+ strain or by SOD-1- strains supplemented with a cytosolic O2(-)-scavenging activity. This result suggests that the aerobic reductive assimilation of SO4(2-) at the level of SO3(2-) may generate a cytotoxic compound(s) which persists in SOD-(1-) yeast strains.

Aerobiosis↗

Photolithoautotrophic growth and control of CO2 fixation in Rhodobacter sphaeroides and Rhodospirillum rubrum in the absence of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase.

Rhodospirillum rubrum and Rhodobacter sphaeroides were shown to be capable of photolithoautotrophic growth in the absence of the reductive pentose phosphate (Calvin) cycle. Ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase (RubisCO) deletion strains were incapable of photolithoautotrophic growth using hydrogen as an electron donor but were able to grow in the absence of organic carbon using less reduced inorganic electron donors, i.e., thiosulfate or sulfide. Wild-type R. rubrum grown in the presence of thiosulfate contained RubisCO levels that were 50-fold lower compared with those in cells growth with hydrogen as an electron donor without substantially influencing rates of photolithoautotrophic growth. These results suggest there are two independent CO2 fixation pathways that support photolithoautotrophic growth in purple nonsulfur photosynthetic bacteria, indicating that these organisms have developed sophisticated control mechanisms to regulate the flow of carbon from CO2 through these separate pathways.

Bacterial Proteins↗

A soxA gene, encoding a diheme cytochrome c, and a sox locus, essential for sulfur oxidation in a new sulfur lithotrophic bacterium.

A mobilizable suicide vector, pSUP5011, was used to introduce Tn5-mob in a new facultative sulfur lithotrophic bacterium, KCT001, to generate mutants defective in sulfur oxidation (Sox(-)). The Sox(-) mutants were unable to oxidize thiosulfate while grown mixotrophically in the presence of thiosulfate and succinate. The mutants were also impaired in oxidizing other reduced sulfur compounds and elemental sulfur as evident from the study of substrate oxidation by the whole cells. Sulfite oxidase activity was significantly diminished in the cell extracts of all the mutants. A soxA gene was identified from the transposon-adjacent genomic DNA of a Sox(-) mutant strain. The sequence analysis revealed that the soxA open reading frame (ORF) is preceded by a potential ribosome binding site and promoter region with -10- and -35-like sequences. The deduced nucleotide sequence of the soxA gene was predicted to code for a protein of 286 amino acids. It had a signal peptide of 26 N-terminal amino acids. The amino acid sequence showed similarity with a putative gene product of Aquifex aeolicus, soluble cytochrome c(551) of Chlorobium limicola, and the available partial SoxA sequence of Paracoccus denitrificans. The soxA-encoded product seems to be a diheme cytochrome c for KCT001 and A. aeolicus, but the amino acid sequence of C. limicola cytochrome c(551) revealed a single heme-binding region. Another transposon insertion mutation was mapped within the soxA ORF. Four other independent transposon insertion mutations were mapped in the 4.4-kb soxA contiguous genomic DNA region. The results thus suggest that a sox locus of KCT001, essential for sulfur oxidation, was affected by all these six independent insertion mutations.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Identification of Bacillus subtilis CysL, a regulator of the cysJI operon, which encodes sulfite reductase.

The way in which the genes involved in cysteine biosynthesis are regulated is poorly characterized in Bacillus subtilis. We showed that CysL (formerly YwfK), a LysR-type transcriptional regulator, activates the transcription of the cysJI operon, which encodes sulfite reductase. We demonstrated that a cysL mutant and a cysJI mutant have similar phenotypes. Both are unable to grow using sulfate or sulfite as the sulfur source. The level of expression of the cysJI operon is higher in the presence of sulfate, sulfite, or thiosulfate than in the presence of cysteine. Conversely, the transcription of the cysH and cysK genes is not regulated by these sulfur sources. In the presence of thiosulfate, the expression of the cysJI operon was reduced 11-fold, whereas the expression of the cysH and cysK genes was increased, in a cysL mutant. A cis-acting DNA sequence located upstream of the transcriptional start site of the cysJI operon (positions -76 to -70) was shown to be necessary for sulfur source- and CysL-dependent regulation. CysL also negatively regulates its own transcription, a common characteristic of the LysR-type regulators. Gel mobility shift assays and DNase I footprint experiments showed that the CysL protein specifically binds to cysJ and cysL promoter regions. This is the first report of a regulator of some of the genes involved in cysteine biosynthesis in B. subtilis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Sulfur isotope fractionation by Salmonella heidelberg: inverse isotope effects during growth on high concentrations of Na2SO3.

During growth on minimal salts - glucose media supplemented with high concentrations of Na2SO3 (10-3 and 10-2 M), Salmonella heidelberg exhibited cytological and growth responses which indicated increased cellular toxicity with increasing sulfite concentrations. The large quantities of sulfide evolved during growth at both SO32- concentrations were accompanied by large normal and inverse isotope effects. Consistent with earlier findings, this organism was found capable of rapidly metabolizing both the sulfane and sulfonate sulfur of thiosulfate. Therefore, the isotope effects do not appear to be caused by extracellular chemical thiosulfate formation.

Hydrogen Sulfide↗

Blockade of histamine-induced contractions of guinea pig ielum by beta-haloalkylamines.

In the longitudinal muscle strip of guinea pig ileum phenoxybenzamine (POB) produces a maximum parallel shift of 0.7 log units in the dose-response curve to histamine. In the presence of sodium thiosulfate in the wash fluid the parallel shift whith retention of maximum response increases to about 2 log units, and a similar value is obtained for Nethyl-N-(2-bromoethyl)-1-naphthylamine. The The agent N-ethyl-N- (2-chloroethyl)benzylamine produces a significantly smaller shift of dose-response curve of 1.53 log units before the maximum response becomes depressed. The receptor-specific depression of maximum response produced by higher doses of POB is reversed by sodium thiosulfate and by bovine serum albumin, while the parallel shift in dose-response curve is unaffected by both treatments. These findings may be explained by a hypothesis involving interaction of 2-haloalkylamines at two sites.

Amines↗

Protection of perfused lung from oxidant injury by inhibitors of anion exchange.

Hyperoxic lung injury is enhanced in isolated perfused lungs (IPL) in the presence of L-arginine. Reactive O2 species such as superoxide anion (O2-.) produced during hyperoxia are known to react with nitric oxide to form the strong oxidant species peroxynitrite. The appearance of O2-. in red blood cell membranes in vitro and in buffer-perfused lung preparations can be inhibited by the stilbene compound 4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (DIDS) DIDS also inhibits anion exchange across the cell membrane regulated by a family of anion exchange proteins (AE). In this study, we hypothesized that anion exchange inhibitors would prevent lung injury from hyperoxia and L-arginine (O2 + L-Arg) by decreasing O2-. flux into the vascular space of the IPL. We found that both DIDS and a structurally distinct anion transport blocker, dipyridamole, protected the rabbit IPL from pulmonary hypertension and edema produced by O2 + L-Arg. The protective effect was associated with increased nitrite concentrations in the perfusate. Protection also was conferred when sodium bicarbonate in the perfusion buffer was replaced with either sodium thiosulfate or N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N'-2-ethanesulfonic acid (HEPES). In lungs perfused with thiosulfate or HEPES-containing buffer, protection from O2 and L-arginine was also associated with diminished detection of reducing activity consistent with O2-. in the vascular space. Western blot analysis of lung protein and immunocytochemical staining of lung sections using antibodies against rabbit red blood cell AE1 and mouse gastric AE2 peptide showed that lung contains membrane protein antigenically similar to gastric AE2. These data suggest the possibility that inhibition of AE or other anion transporters may play an important role in mediating oxidative lung injury.

4,4'-Diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-Disulfonic Acid↗

Sulfate transport in rabbit proximal convoluted tubules: presence of anion exchange.

These studies describe the characteristics of sulfate transport in proximal convoluted tubules from rabbit kidney. We measured absorptive and secretory fluxes of sulfate in isolated tubular segments perfused and bathed with fluids containing sulfate concentrations of 0.2-10 mM. At 2.0 mM, the sulfate flux in the absorptive direction averaged 4.76 +/- 0.50 and the secretory flux was 3.08 +/- 0.31 pmol . mm-1 . min-1. Ouabain 10(-5) M decreased each to approx. 1.15 pmol . mm-1 . min-1. Kinetic analysis of each unidirectional sulfate flux demonstrated saturation with increasing sulfate concentrations. Thiosulfate 2 mM in the bath inhibited both absorptive and secretory sulfate fluxes; thiosulfate in the perfusate inhibited only the absorptive flux. Similar results were obtained with 10(-6) M SITS in either bath or perfusate. Phosphate had no effect on sulfate transport. Each unidirectional sulfate flux was influenced by the sulfate concentration in the solution on the opposite side in a pattern consistent with the presence of an anion exchange mechanism. Anion exchange transport persisted at 22 degrees C when net sulfate transport was abolished. The data indicate that sulfate transport in the proximal convoluted tubule is bidirectional, independent of phosphate transport, and occurs via two forms of facilitated transport, one of which is an anion exchange mechanism.

Animals↗

Pyrobaculum calidifontis sp. nov., a novel hyperthermophilic archaeon that grows in atmospheric air.

A novel, facultatively aerobic, heterotrophic hyperthermophilic archaeon was isolated from a terrestrial hot spring in the Philippines. Cells of the new isolate, strain VA1, were rod-shaped with a length of 1.5 to 10 microm and a width of 0.5 to 1.0 microm. Isolate VA1 grew optimally at 90 to 95 degrees C and pH 7.0 in atmospheric air. Oxygen served as a final electron acceptor under aerobic growth conditions, and vigorous shaking of the medium significantly enhanced growth. Elemental sulfur inhibited cell growth under aerobic growth conditions, whereas thiosulfate stimulated cell growth. Under anaerobic growth conditions, nitrate served as a final electron acceptor, but nitrite or sulfur-containing compounds such as elemental sulfur, thiosulfate, sulfate and sulfite could not act as final electron acceptors. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 51 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA sequences indicated that strain VA1 exhibited close relationships to species of the genus Pyrobaculum. A DNA-DNA hybridization study revealed a low level of similarity (< or = 18%) between strain VA1 and previously described members of the genus Pyrobaculum. Physiological characteristics also indicated that strain VA1 was distinct from these Pyrobaculum species. Our results indicate that isolate VA1 represents a novel species, named Pyrobaculum calidifontis.

Aerobiosis↗