The bacterial strain SJT(T), along with 15 other mesophilic, neutrophilic and facultatively sulfur-oxidizing chemolithotrophic isolates, was isolated by enrichment on reduced sulfur compounds as the sole energy and electron source from soils immediately adjacent to the roots of Clitoria ternatea, a slender leguminous herb of the Lower Gangetic plains of India. Strain SJT(T) was able to oxidize ...

pathways in sequenced Chlorobi are examined. Finally, the latest developments in microbial pathways for the degradation of DMSP, an extremely important component of the marine sulfur cycle are summarized. Three research articles focus on the regulation of sulfur oxidation genes in the purple sulfur bacterium Allochromatium vinosum, growth on tetrathionate vs. S(0) in Acidithiobacillus caldus an...

Acidithiobacillus caldus is a chemolithoautotrophic sulfur-oxidizing bacterium that is widely used for bioleaching processes. Acidithiobacillus spp. are suggested to contain sulfur dioxygenases (SDOs) that facilitate sulfur oxidation. In this study, two putative sdo genes (A5904_0421 and A5904_1112) were detected in the genome of A. caldus MTH-04 by BLASTP searching with the previously identifi...

Although thiotrophic symbioses have been intensively studied for the last three decades, nothing is known about the molecular mechanisms of symbiont acquisition. We used the symbiosis between the marine nematode Laxus oneistus and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria to study this process. In this association a monolayer of symbionts covers the whole cuticle of the nematode, except its anterior-most regio...

Anaerobic thermophiles inhabit relic environments that resemble the early Earth. However, the lineage of these modern organisms co-evolved with our planet. Hence, these organisms carry both ancestral and acquired genes and serve as models to reconstruct early metabolism. Based on comparative genomic and proteomic analyses, we identified two distinct groups of genes in Thermovibrio ammonificans:...

The discovery of bacterium-bivalve symbioses capable of utilizing methane as a carbon and energy source indicates that the endosymbionts of hydrothermal vent and cold seep bivalves are not restricted to sulfur-oxidizing chemoautotrophic bacteria but also include methanotrophic bacteria. The phylogenetic origin of methanotrophic endosymbionts and their relationship to known symbiotic and free-li...

Leptospirillum sp. str. ZC isolated from bioleaching pulp of zinc concentrate is capable of oxidizing Fe (II) with the optimal temperature of 37oC. In pure culture bacteria is unable to oxidize pyrite, however, its growth together with sulfur oxidizing A.albertensis str.SO-2 significantly enhances the efficiency of pyrite bioleaching. The correlation between pyrite biooxidation and adhesion of ...

Chemolithoautotrophic bacteria that oxidize reduced sulfur compounds, such as H2S, while fixing CO2 are an untapped source of renewable bioproducts from sulfide-laden waste, such as municipal wastewater. In this study, we report engineering of the chemolithoautotrophic bacterium Thiobacillus denitrificans to produce up to 52-fold more fatty acids than the wild-type strain when grown with thiosu...

The feasibility of using biotrickling filters for the removal of mercury vapor from simulated flue gases was evaluated. The experiments were carried out in laboratory-scale biotrickling filters with various mixed cultures naturally attached on a polyurethane foam packing. Sulfur oxidizing bacteria, toluene degraders and denitrifiers were used and compared for their ability to remove Hg 0 vapor....

A heterotrophic bacterium, isolated from an acidic stream in a disused pyrite mine which contained copious growths of "acid streamers," displayed characteristics which differentiated it from previously described mesophilic acidophiles. The isolate was obligately acidophilic, with a pH range of 2.0 to 4.4 and an optimum pH of 3.0. The bacterium was unable to fix carbon dioxide but oxidized ferro...