Microbial Assimilation and Dissimilation of Sulfonate Sulfur
Angelica P. Seitz, Edward R. Leadbetter · ACS symposium series · 1995
A wide variety of microbes use sulfonate-sulfur as the sole sulfur source for biosynthesis even when the carbon of that sulfonate cannot be used as an energy source for growth. Our studies of bacteria, including members of the genera Comamonas and Escherichia, as well as ascomycetous and basidiomycetous yeasts indicate that the sulfur of many naturally-occurring sulfonates can be reduced and assimilated into cellular sulfur compounds during aerobic, respiratory growth. Other unrelated bacteria (e.g. members of the genera Clostridium, Klebsiella ) are able to use sulfonate-sulfur for biosynthesis under anaerobic conditions. Sulfonate can also serve as the terminal electron acceptor for Desulfovibrio's anaerobic respiration. The breadth of microbial participation in sulfonate-sulfur transformations in the natural sulfur cycle is thus established.