Isolation and identification of an iron-oxidizing bacterium which can grow on tetrathionate medium and the properties of a tetrathionate-decomposing enzyme isolated from the bacterium

Tetrathionate hydrolase from the acidophilic microorganisms

Tetrathionate hydrolase (TTH) is a unique enzyme found in acidophilic sulfur-oxidizing microorganisms, such as bacteria and archaea. This enzyme catalyzes the hydrolysis of tetrathionate to thiosulfate, elemental sulfur, and sulfate. It is also involved in dissimilatory sulfur oxidation metabolism, the S4-intermediate pathway. TTHs have been purified and characterized from acidophilic autotrophic sulfur-oxidizing microorganisms. All purified TTHs show an optimum pH in the acidic range, suggesting that they are localized in the periplasmic space or outer membrane. In particular, the gene encoding TTH from Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (Af-tth) was identified and recombinantly expressed in Escherichia coli cells. TTH activity could be recovered from the recombinant inclusion bodies by acid refolding treatment for crystallization. The mechanism of tetrathionate hydrolysis was then elucidated by X-ray crystal structure analysis. Af-tth is highly expressed in tetrathionate-grown cells but not in iron-grown cells. These unique structural properties, reaction mechanisms, gene expression, and regulatory mechanisms are discussed in this review.

Sulfur Oxidation in the Acidophilic Autotrophic Acidithiobacillus spp

Sulfur oxidation is an essential component of the earth's sulfur cycle. Acidithiobacillus spp. can oxidize various reduced inorganic sulfur compounds (RISCs) with high efficiency to obtain electrons for their autotrophic growth. Strains in this genus have been widely applied in bioleaching and biological desulfurization. Diverse sulfur-metabolic pathways and corresponding regulatory systems have been discovered in these acidophilic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria. The sulfur-metabolic enzymes in Acidithiobacillus spp. can be categorized as elemental sulfur oxidation enzymes (sulfur dioxygenase, sulfur oxygenase reductase, and Hdr-like complex), enzymes in thiosulfate oxidation pathways (tetrathionate intermediate thiosulfate oxidation (S4I) pathway, the sulfur oxidizing enzyme (Sox) system and thiosulfate dehydrogenase), sulfide oxidation enzymes (sulfide:quinone oxidoreductase) and sulfite oxidation pathways/enzymes. The two-component systems (TCSs) are the typical regulation elements for periplasmic thiosulfate metabolism in these autotrophic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria. Examples are RsrS/RsrR responsible for S4I pathway regulation and TspS/TspR for Sox system regulation. The proposal of sulfur metabolic and regulatory models provide new insights and overall understanding of the sulfur-metabolic processes in Acidithiobacillus spp. The future research directions and existing barriers in the bacterial sulfur metabolism are also emphasized here and the breakthroughs in these areas will accelerate the research on the sulfur oxidation in Acidithiobacillus spp. and other sulfur oxidizers.

Biochemistry and molecular biology of lithotrophic sulfur oxidation by taxonomically and ecologically diverse bacteria and archaea

Lithotrophic sulfur oxidation is an ancient metabolic process. Ecologically and taxonomically diverged prokaryotes have differential abilities to utilize different reduced sulfur compounds as lithotrophic substrates. Different phototrophic or chemotrophic species use different enzymes, pathways and mechanisms of electron transport and energy conservation for the oxidation of any given substrate. While the mechanisms of sulfur oxidation in obligately chemolithotrophic bacteria, predominantly belonging to Beta- (e.g. Thiobacillus) and Gammaproteobacteria (e.g. Thiomicrospira), are not well established, the Sox system is the central pathway in the facultative bacteria from Alphaproteobacteria (e.g. Paracoccus). Interestingly, photolithotrophs such as Rhodovulum belonging to Alphaproteobacteria also use the Sox system, whereas those from Chromatiaceae and Chlorobi use a truncated Sox complex alongside reverse-acting sulfate-reducing systems. Certain chemotrophic magnetotactic Alphaproteobacteria allegedly utilize such a combined mechanism. Sulfur-chemolithotrophic metabolism in Archaea, largely restricted to Sulfolobales, is distinct from those in Bacteria. Phylogenetic and biomolecular fossil data suggest that the ubiquity of sox genes could be due to horizontal transfer, and coupled sulfate reduction/sulfide oxidation pathways, originating in planktonic ancestors of Chromatiaceae or Chlorobi, could be ancestral to all sulfur-lithotrophic processes. However, the possibility that chemolithotrophy, originating in deep sea, is the actual ancestral form of sulfur oxidation cannot be ruled out.

Identification of a gene encoding a tetrathionate hydrolase in Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans

Tetrathionate is one of the most important intermediates in dissimilatory sulfur oxidation and can itself be utilized as a sole energy source by some sulfur-oxidizing microorganisms. Tetrathionate hydrolase (4THase) plays a significant role in tetrathionate oxidation and should catalyze the initial step in the oxidative dissimilation when sulfur-oxidizing bacteria are grown on tetrathionate. 4THase activity was detected in tetrathionate-grown Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans ATCC 23270 cells but not in iron-grown cells. A 4THase having a dimeric structure of identical 50kDa polypeptides was purified from tetrathionate-grown cells. The 4THase showed the maximum activity at pH 3.0 and high stability under acidic conditions. An open reading frame (ORF) encoding the N-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified 4THase was identified by a BLAST search using the database for the A. ferrooxidans ATCC 23270 genome. Heterologous expression of the gene in Escherichia coli resulted in the formation of inclusion bodies of the protein in an inactive form. Antisera against the recombinant protein clearly recognized the purified native 4THase, indicating that the ORF encoded the 4THase.

Extracellular polymeric substances mediate bioleaching/biocorrosion via interfacial processes involving iron(III) ions and acidophilic bacteria

Extracellular polymeric substances seem to play a pivotal role in biocorrosion of metals and bioleaching, biocorrosion of metal sulfides for the winning of precious metals as well as acid rock drainage. For better control of both processes, the structure and function of extracellular polymeric substances of corrosion-causing or leaching bacteria are of crucial importance. Our research focused on the extremophilic bacteria Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Leptospirillum ferrooxidans, because of the "simplicity" and knowledge about the interactions of these bacteria with their substrate/substratum and their environment. For this purpose, the composition of the corresponding extracellular polymeric substances and their functions were analyzed. The extracellular polymeric substances of both species consist mainly of neutral sugars and lipids. The functions of the exopolymers seem to be: (i) to mediate attachment to a (metal) sulfide surface, and (ii) to concentrate iron(III) ions by complexation through uronic acids or other residues at the mineral surface, thus, allowing an oxidative attack on the sulfide. Consequently, dissolution of the metal sulfide is enhanced, which may result in an acceleration of 20- to 100-fold of the bioleaching process over chemical leaching. Experiments were performed to elucidate the importance of the iron(III) ions complexed by extracellular polymeric substances for strain-specific differences in oxidative activity for pyrite. Strains of A. ferrooxidans with a high amount of iron(III) ions in their extracellular polymeric substances possess greater oxidation activity than those with fewer iron(III) ions. These data provide insight into the function of and consequently the advantages that extracellular polymeric substances provide to bacteria. The role of extracellular polymeric substances for attachment under the conditions of a space station and resulting effects like biofouling, biocorrosion, malodorous gases, etc. will be discussed.

Production of hydrogen sulfide from tetrathionate by the iron-oxidizing bacterium Thiobacillus ferrooxidans NASF-1

When incubated under anaerobic conditions, five strains of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans tested produced hydrogen sulfide (H2S) from elemental sulfur at pH 1.5. However, among the strains, T. ferrooxidans NASF-1 and AP19-3 were able to use both elemental sulfur and tetrathionate as electron acceptors for H2S production at pH 1.5. The mechanism of H2S production from tetrathionate was studied with intact cells of strain NASF-1. Strain NASF-1 was unable to use dithionate, trithionate, or pentathionate as an electron acceptor. After 12 h of incubation under anaerobic conditions at 30 degrees C, 1.3 micromol of tetrathionate in the reaction mixture was decomposed, and 0.78 micromol of H2S and 0.6 micromol of trithionate were produced. Thiosulfate and sulfite were not detected in the reaction mixture. From these results, we propose that H2S is produced at pH 1.5 from tetrathionate by T. ferrooxidans NASF-1, via the following two-step reaction, in which AH2 represents an unknown electron donor in NASF-1 cells. Namely, tetrathionate is decomposed by tetrathionate-decomposing enzyme to give trithionate and elemental sulfur (S4O6(2-)-->S3O6(2-) + S(o), Eq. 1), and the elemental sulfur thus produced is reduced by sulfur reductase using electrons from AH2 to give H2S (S(o) + AH2-->H2S + A, Eq. 2). The optimum pH and temperature for H2S production from tetrathionate under argon gas were 1.5 and 30 degrees C, respectively. Under argon gas, the H2S production from tetrathionate stopped after 1 d of incubation, producing a total of 2.5 micromol of H2S/5 mg protein. In contrast, under H2 conditions, H2S production continued for 6 d, producing a total of 10.0 micromol of H2S/5 mg protein. These results suggest that electrons from H2 were used to reduce elemental sulfur produced as an intermediate to give H2S. Potassium cyanide at 0.5 mM slightly inhibited H2S production from tetrathionate, but increased that from elemental sulfur 3-fold. 2,4-Dinitrophenol at 0.05 mM, carbonylcyanide-m-chlorophenyl- hydrazone at 0.01 mM, mercury chloride at 0.05 mM, and sodium selenate at 1.0 mM almost completely inhibited H2S production from tetrathionate, but not from elemental sulfur.

Isolation and some properties of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans strains with differing levels of mercury resistance from natural environments

Fifty iron-oxidizing bacteria isolated from natural environments were screened for resistance to mercuric ions (Hg2+). Thiobacillus ferrooxidans Funis 2-1, the strain found to show the greatest resistance to Hg2+ among the fifty isolates, gave a cell yield of 7.0 x 10(7) cells/ml after 8 d cultivation in an Fe2+-medium (pH 2.5) containing 0.7 microM Hg2+. Funis 2-1 volatilized 80% of the total mercury added to the medium over 8 d of cultivation. T. ferrooxidans AP19-3, more sensitive to Hg2+ than Funis 2-1, could not grow in an Fe2+-medium (pH 2.5) containing 0.7 microM Hg2+ even over a 28 d cultivation period. When resting cells of strains Funis 2-1 and AP19-3 were incubated for 3 h in a salt solution containing 0.7 microM Hg2+ (pH 3.0), 14.3% and 7.9% of the total mercury added to the reaction mixtures respectively, were volatilized. The activity of the mercuric reductase from Funis 2-1 was only 2.8 times higher than that of the enzyme from AP19-3. Since the markedly higher mercury resistance of Funis 2-1 compared with that of AP19-3 cannot be explained only by the level of the mercuric reductase activity, the levels of mercury resistance of iron oxidase and cytochrome c oxidase were studied. The 1 microM mercuric ions inhibited the 35% of iron-oxidizing activity from AP19-3. In contrast, the same concentration of Hg2+ did not inhibit the activity of iron oxidase from Funis 2-1. In the case of the cytochrome c oxidases purified from both strains, the 0.2 microM Hg2+ inhibited approximately 40% of cytochrome c oxidizing activity from AP19-3, on the contrary, the activity of the enzyme from Funis 2-1 was activated 1.8- and 1.2-fold, respectively, in the presence of 0.08 and 0.2 microM Hg2+. Since cytochrome c oxidase is one of the most important components of the iron-oxidizing system, these results indicate that both the existence of cytochrome c oxidase resistant to Hg2+ as well as that of mercuric reductase in the cells is responsible for the more rapid growth of Funis 2-1 than that of in an Fe2+-medium containing 0.7 microM Hg2+.

Localization, purification and properties of a tetrathionate hydrolase from Acidithiobacillus caldus

The moderately thermophilic bacterium Acidithiobacillus caldus is found in bacterial populations in many bioleaching operations throughout the world. This bacterium oxidizes elemental sulfur and other reduced inorganic sulfur compounds as the sole source of energy. The purpose of this study was to purify and characterize the tetrathionate hydrolase of A. caldus. The enzyme was purified 16.7-fold by one step chromatography using a SP Sepharose column. The purified enzyme resolved into a single band in 10% polyacrylamide gel, both under denaturing and native conditions. Its homogeneity was confirmed by N-terminal amino acid sequencing. Tetrathionate hydrolase was shown to be a homodimer with a molecular mass of 103 kDa (composed from two 52 kDa monomers). The purified enzyme had optimum activity at pH 3.0 and 40 degrees C and an isoelectric point of 9.8. The periplasmic localization of the enzyme was determined by differential fractionation of A. caldus cells. Detected products of the tetrathionate hydrolase reaction were thiosulfate and pentathionate as confirmed by RP-HPLC analysis. The activity of the purified enzyme was drastically enhanced by divalent metal ions.

Mechanism of growth inhibition by tungsten in Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans

Cell growth of three hundred iron-oxidizing bacteria isolated from natural environments was inhibited strongly by 0.05 mM, and completely by 0.2 mM of sodium tungstate (Na2WO4), respectively. Since no great difference in the level of tungsten inhibition was observed among the 300 strains tested, the mechanism of inhibition by Na2WO4 was studied with Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans strain AP19-3. When resting cells of AP19-3 were incubated in 0.1 M beta-alanine-SO4(2-) buffer (pH 3.0) with 0.1 mM Na2WO4 for 1 h, the amount of tungsten bound to the cells was 12 microg/mg protein. The optimum pH for tungsten binding to the resting cells was 2 to approximately 3. Approximately 2 times more tungsten bound to the cells at pH 3.0 than at pH 6.0. The tungsten binding was specifically inhibited by sodium molybdenum. However, copper, nickel, cadmium, zinc, manganese, cobalt, and vanadate did not disturb tungsten binding to the resting cells. The iron-oxidizing activity of AP19-3 was inhibited 24, 62, and 77% by 1, 5, and 10 mM of Na2WO4, respectively. Among the components of iron oxidation enzyme system, iron:cytochrome c oxidoreductase activity was not inhibited by 10 mM of Na2WO4. In contrast, the activity of cytochrome c oxidase purified highly from the strain was inhibited 50 and 72%, respectively, by 0.05 and 0.1 mM of Na2WO4. The amounts of tungsten bound to plasma membrane, cytosol fraction, and a purified cytochrome c oxidase were 8, 0.5, and 191 microg/mg protein, respectively. From the results, the growth inhibition by Na2WO4 observed in A. ferrooxidans is explained as follows: tungsten binds to cytochrome c oxidase in plasma membranes and inhibits cytochrome c oxidase activity, and as a results, the generation of energy needed for cell growth from the oxidation of Fe2+ is stopped.

Isolation of iron-oxidizing bacteria from corroded concretes of sewage treatment plants

Thirty-six strains of iron-oxidizing bacteria were isolated from corroded concrete samples obtained at eight sewage treatment plants in Japan. All of the strains isolated grew autotrophically in ferrous sulfate (3.0%), elemental sulfur (1.0%) and FeS (1.0%) media (pH 1.5). Washed intact cells of the 36 isolates had activities to oxidize both ferrous iron and elemental sulfur. Strain SNA-5, a representative of the isolated strains, was a gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium (0.5-0.6x0.9-1.5 microm). The mean G+C content of its DNA was 55.9 mol%. The pH and temperature optima for growth were 1.5 and 30 degrees C, and the bacterium had activity to assimilate 14CO2 into the cells when ferrous iron or elemental sulfur was used as a sole source of energy. These results suggest that SNA-5 is Thiobacillus ferrooxidans strain. The pHs and numbers of iron-oxidizing bacteria in corroded concrete samples obtained by boring to depths of 0-1, 1-3, and 3-5 cm below the concrete surface were respectively 1.4, 1.7, and 2.0, and 1.2 x 10(8), 5 x 10(7), and 5 x 10(6) cells/g concrete. The degree of corrosion in the sample obtained nearest to the surface was more severe than in the deeper samples. The findings indicated that the levels of acidification and corrosion of the concrete structure corresponded with the number of iron-oxidizing bacteria in a concrete sample. Sulfuric acid produced by the chemolithoautotrophic sulfur-oxidizing bacterium Thiobacillus thiooxidansis known to induce concrete corrosion. Since not only T. thiooxidans but also T. ferrooxidans can oxidize reduced sulfur compounds and produce sulfuric acid, the results strongly suggest that T. ferrooxidans as well as T. thiooxidans is involved in concrete corrosion.