Sulfate-reducing bacteria
Encyclopedia
Sulfate-reducing bacteria are those bacteria
and archaea
that can obtain energy by oxidizing organic compound
s or molecular hydrogen
(H2) while reducing sulfate
to hydrogen sulfide
(H2S). In a sense, these organisms "breathe" sulfate rather than oxygen, in a form of anaerobic respiration
.
Sulfate-reducing bacteria can be traced back to 3.5 billion years ago and are considered to be among the oldest forms of microorganisms, having contributed to the sulfur cycle
soon after life emerged on Earth.
Many bacteria reduce small amounts of sulfates in order to synthesize sulfur
-containing cell components; this is known as assimilatory sulfate reduction. By contrast, the sulfate-reducing bacteria considered here reduce sulfate in large amounts to obtain energy and expel the resulting sulfide as waste; this is known as dissimilatory sulfate reduction. They use sulfate as the terminal electron acceptor
of their electron transport chain
. Most of them are anaerobes
.
Most sulfate-reducing bacteria can also reduce other oxidized inorganic sulfur
compounds, such as sulfite
, thiosulfate
, or elemental sulfur (see sulfur-reducing bacteria
).
In addition, there are sulfate-reducing bacteria that can reduce fumarate, nitrate
and nitrite
, iron
(Fe(III)) and some other metals, dimethyl sulfoxide
and even oxygen.
environments where they aid in the degradation of organic materials. In these anaerobic environments, fermenting bacteria
extract energy from large organic molecules; the resulting smaller compounds such as organic acid
s and alcohol
s are further oxidized by acetogen
s and methanogen
s and the competing sulfate-reducing bacteria.
The toxic hydrogen sulfide
is a waste product of sulfate-reducing bacteria; its rotten egg odor is often a marker for the presence of sulfate-reducing bacteria in nature. Sulfate-reducing bacteria are responsible for the sulfurous odors of salt marshes and mud flats. Much of the hydrogen sulfide will react with metal ions in the water to produce metal sulfides. These metal sulfides, such as ferrous sulfide
(FeS), are insoluble and often black or brown, leading to the dark color of sludge.
During the Permian–Triassic extinction event (250 million years ago) a severe anoxic event
seems to have occurred where these forms of bacteria became the dominant force in oceanic ecosystems, producing copious amounts of hydrogen sulfide.
s such as benzene
, toluene
, ethylbenzene
and xylene
and have been used to clean up contaminated soils. Their use has also been proposed for other kinds of contaminations.
Sulfate-reducing bacteria are considered as a possible way to deal with acid mine waters
that are produced by other bacteria.
.
Hydrogen sulfide from sulfate-reducing bacteria also plays a role in the corrosion of concrete
. It also occurs in sour crude oil.
Some sulfate-reducing bacteria play a role in the anaerobic oxidation of methane
:
An important fraction of the methane formed by methanogen
s below the seabed is oxidized by sulfate-reducing bacteria in the transition zone separating the methanogenesis from the sulfate reduction activity in the sediments. This process is also considered a major sink for sulfate in marine sediments.
In hydrofracturing fluids used to frack shale
formations to recover methane
(shale gas
), biocide
compounds are often added to water to inhibit the microbial activity of sulfate-reducing bacteria in order to avoid anaerobic methane oxidation and to minimize potential production loss.
and sulfate to create adenosine 5'-phosphosulfate (APS). APS is subsequently reduced to sulfite
and AMP
. Sulfite is further reduced to sulfide, while AMP is turned into ADP
using another molecule of ATP. The overall process thus involves an investment of two molecules of the energy carrier ATP which have to be regained from the reduction.
, together with the other sulfur-reducing bacteria
, for identification purposes. They are found in several different phylogenetic lines. As of 2009, 60 genera containing 220 species of sulfate-reducing bacteria were known.
Among the Deltaproteobacteria
the orders of sulfate-reducing bacteria include: Desulfobacterales
, Desulfovibrionales
and Syntrophobacterales
. This accounts for the largest group of sulfate-reducing bacteria, about 23 genera.
The second largest group of sulfate-reducing bacteria.is found among the Firmicutes
, including the genera Desulfotomaculum
, Desulfosporomusa and Desulfosporosinus.
In the Nitrospirae
division we find sulfate-reducing Thermodesulfovibrio species.
Two more groups including thermophile
sulfate-reducing bacteria are given their own phyla, the Thermodesulfobacteria
and Thermodesulfobium.
There are also three genera of Archaea
known to be capable of sulfate reduction: Archaeoglobus
, Thermocladium
and Caldivirga
. They are found in hydrothermal vents, oil deposits, and hot springs.
Bacteria
Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...
and archaea
Archaea
The Archaea are a group of single-celled microorganisms. A single individual or species from this domain is called an archaeon...
that can obtain energy by oxidizing organic compound
Organic compound
An organic compound is any member of a large class of gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon. For historical reasons discussed below, a few types of carbon-containing compounds such as carbides, carbonates, simple oxides of carbon, and cyanides, as well as the...
s or molecular hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
(H2) while reducing sulfate
Sulfate
In inorganic chemistry, a sulfate is a salt of sulfuric acid.-Chemical properties:...
to hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless, very poisonous, flammable gas with the characteristic foul odor of expired eggs perceptible at concentrations as low as 0.00047 parts per million...
(H2S). In a sense, these organisms "breathe" sulfate rather than oxygen, in a form of anaerobic respiration
Anaerobic respiration
Anaerobic respiration is a form of respiration using electron acceptors other than oxygen. Although oxygen is not used as the final electron acceptor, the process still uses a respiratory electron transport chain; it is respiration without oxygen...
.
Sulfate-reducing bacteria can be traced back to 3.5 billion years ago and are considered to be among the oldest forms of microorganisms, having contributed to the sulfur cycle
Sulfur cycle
The sulfur cycle are the collection of processes by which sulfur moves to and from minerals and living systems. Such biogeochemical cycles are important in geology because they affect many minerals...
soon after life emerged on Earth.
Many bacteria reduce small amounts of sulfates in order to synthesize sulfur
Sulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...
-containing cell components; this is known as assimilatory sulfate reduction. By contrast, the sulfate-reducing bacteria considered here reduce sulfate in large amounts to obtain energy and expel the resulting sulfide as waste; this is known as dissimilatory sulfate reduction. They use sulfate as the terminal electron acceptor
Electron acceptor
An electron acceptor is a chemical entity that accepts electrons transferred to it from another compound. It is an oxidizing agent that, by virtue of its accepting electrons, is itself reduced in the process....
of their electron transport chain
Electron transport chain
An electron transport chain couples electron transfer between an electron donor and an electron acceptor with the transfer of H+ ions across a membrane. The resulting electrochemical proton gradient is used to generate chemical energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate...
. Most of them are anaerobes
Anaerobic organism
An anaerobic organism or anaerobe is any organism that does not require oxygen for growth. It could possibly react negatively and may even die if oxygen is present...
.
Most sulfate-reducing bacteria can also reduce other oxidized inorganic sulfur
Sulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...
compounds, such as sulfite
Sulfite
Sulfites are compounds that contain the sulfite ion SO. The sulfite ion is the conjugate base of bisulfite. Although the acid itself is elusive, its salts are widely used.-Structure:...
, thiosulfate
Thiosulfate
Thiosulfate is an oxyanion of sulfur. The prefix thio indicates that thiosulfate ion is a sulfate ion with one oxygen replaced by a sulfur. Thiosulfate occurs naturally and is produced by certain biochemical processes...
, or elemental sulfur (see sulfur-reducing bacteria
Sulfur-reducing bacteria
Sulfur-reducing bacteria get their energy by reducing elemental sulfur to hydrogen sulfide. They couple this reaction with the oxidation of acetate, succinate or other organic compounds....
).
In addition, there are sulfate-reducing bacteria that can reduce fumarate, nitrate
Nitrate
The nitrate ion is a polyatomic ion with the molecular formula NO and a molecular mass of 62.0049 g/mol. It is the conjugate base of nitric acid, consisting of one central nitrogen atom surrounded by three identically-bonded oxygen atoms in a trigonal planar arrangement. The nitrate ion carries a...
and nitrite
Nitrite
The nitrite ion has the chemical formula NO2−. The anion is symmetric with equal N-O bond lengths and a O-N-O bond angle of ca. 120°. On protonation the unstable weak acid nitrous acid is produced. Nitrite can be oxidised or reduced, with product somewhat dependent on the oxidizing/reducing agent...
, iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
(Fe(III)) and some other metals, dimethyl sulfoxide
Dimethyl sulfoxide
Dimethyl sulfoxide is an organosulfur compound with the formula 2SO. This colorless liquid is an important polar aprotic solvent that dissolves both polar and nonpolar compounds and is miscible in a wide range of organic solvents as well as water...
and even oxygen.
Ecological importance and markers
Sulfate occurs widely in seawater, sediment, or water rich in decaying organic material. Sulfate-reducing bacteria are common in anaerobicAnaerobic
Anaerobic is a word which literally means without oxygen, as opposed to aerobic.In wastewater treatment the absence of oxygen is indicated as anoxic; and anaerobic is used to indicate the absence of a common electron acceptor such as nitrate, sulfate or oxygen.Anaerobic may refer to:*Anaerobic...
environments where they aid in the degradation of organic materials. In these anaerobic environments, fermenting bacteria
Fermentation (biochemistry)
Fermentation is the process of extracting energy from the oxidation of organic compounds, such as carbohydrates, using an endogenous electron acceptor, which is usually an organic compound. In contrast, respiration is where electrons are donated to an exogenous electron acceptor, such as oxygen,...
extract energy from large organic molecules; the resulting smaller compounds such as organic acid
Organic acid
An organic acid is an organic compound with acidic properties. The most common organic acids are the carboxylic acids, whose acidity is associated with their carboxyl group –COOH. Sulfonic acids, containing the group –SO2OH, are relatively stronger acids. The relative stability of the conjugate...
s and alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
s are further oxidized by acetogen
Acetogen
An acetogen is a microorganism that generates acetate as a product of anaerobic respiration. This process is known as acetogenesis and is different from acetate fermentation, although both occur in the absence of oxygen and produce acetate...
s and methanogen
Methanogen
Methanogens are microorganisms that produce methane as a metabolic byproduct in anoxic conditions. They are classified as archaea, a group quite distinct from bacteria...
s and the competing sulfate-reducing bacteria.
The toxic hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless, very poisonous, flammable gas with the characteristic foul odor of expired eggs perceptible at concentrations as low as 0.00047 parts per million...
is a waste product of sulfate-reducing bacteria; its rotten egg odor is often a marker for the presence of sulfate-reducing bacteria in nature. Sulfate-reducing bacteria are responsible for the sulfurous odors of salt marshes and mud flats. Much of the hydrogen sulfide will react with metal ions in the water to produce metal sulfides. These metal sulfides, such as ferrous sulfide
Iron(II) sulfide
Iron sulfide or ferrous sulfide is a chemical compound with the formula . In practice, iron sulfides are often non-stoichiometric. Powdered iron sulfide is pyrophoric Iron(II) sulfide or ferrous sulfide (Br.E. sulphide) is a chemical compound with the formula . In practice, iron sulfides are...
(FeS), are insoluble and often black or brown, leading to the dark color of sludge.
During the Permian–Triassic extinction event (250 million years ago) a severe anoxic event
Anoxic event
Oceanic anoxic events or anoxic events occur when the Earth's oceans become completely depleted of oxygen below the surface levels. Although anoxic events have not happened for millions of years, the geological record shows that they happened many times in the past. Anoxic events may have caused...
seems to have occurred where these forms of bacteria became the dominant force in oceanic ecosystems, producing copious amounts of hydrogen sulfide.
Uses
Some sulfate-reducing bacteria can reduce hydrocarbonHydrocarbon
In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons from which one hydrogen atom has been removed are functional groups, called hydrocarbyls....
s such as benzene
Benzene
Benzene is an organic chemical compound. It is composed of 6 carbon atoms in a ring, with 1 hydrogen atom attached to each carbon atom, with the molecular formula C6H6....
, toluene
Toluene
Toluene, formerly known as toluol, is a clear, water-insoluble liquid with the typical smell of paint thinners. It is a mono-substituted benzene derivative, i.e., one in which a single hydrogen atom from the benzene molecule has been replaced by a univalent group, in this case CH3.It is an aromatic...
, ethylbenzene
Ethylbenzene
Ethylbenzene is an organic compound with the formula C6H5CH2CH3. This aromatic hydrocarbon is important in the petrochemical industry as an intermediate in the production of styrene, which in turn is used for making polystyrene, a common plastic material....
and xylene
Xylene
Xylene encompasses three isomers of dimethylbenzene. The isomers are distinguished by the designations ortho- , meta- , and para- , which specify to which carbon atoms the two methyl groups are attached...
and have been used to clean up contaminated soils. Their use has also been proposed for other kinds of contaminations.
Sulfate-reducing bacteria are considered as a possible way to deal with acid mine waters
Acid mine drainage
Acid mine drainage , or acid rock drainage , refers to the outflow of acidic water from metal mines or coal mines. However, other areas where the earth has been disturbed may also contribute acid rock drainage to the environment...
that are produced by other bacteria.
Problems caused by sulfate-reducing bacteria
In engineering, sulfate-reducing bacteria can create problems when metal structures are exposed to sulfate-containing water: interaction of water and metal creates a layer of molecular hydrogen on the metal surface; sulfate reducing bacteria then oxidize the hydrogen while creating hydrogen sulfide which contributes to corrosionCorrosion
Corrosion is the disintegration of an engineered material into its constituent atoms due to chemical reactions with its surroundings. In the most common use of the word, this means electrochemical oxidation of metals in reaction with an oxidant such as oxygen...
.
Hydrogen sulfide from sulfate-reducing bacteria also plays a role in the corrosion of concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
. It also occurs in sour crude oil.
Some sulfate-reducing bacteria play a role in the anaerobic oxidation of methane
Methane
Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel...
:
- CH4 + SO42– → HCO3–BicarbonateIn inorganic chemistry, bicarbonate is an intermediate form in the deprotonation of carbonic acid...
+ HS– + H2O
An important fraction of the methane formed by methanogen
Methanogen
Methanogens are microorganisms that produce methane as a metabolic byproduct in anoxic conditions. They are classified as archaea, a group quite distinct from bacteria...
s below the seabed is oxidized by sulfate-reducing bacteria in the transition zone separating the methanogenesis from the sulfate reduction activity in the sediments. This process is also considered a major sink for sulfate in marine sediments.
In hydrofracturing fluids used to frack shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
formations to recover methane
Methane
Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel...
(shale gas
Shale gas
Shale gas is natural gas produced from shale. Shale gas has become an increasingly important source of natural gas in the United States over the past decade, and interest has spread to potential gas shales in the rest of the world...
), biocide
Biocide
A biocide is a chemical substance or microorganism which can deter, render harmless, or exert a controlling effect on any harmful organism by chemical or biological means. Biocides are commonly used in medicine, agriculture, forestry, and industry...
compounds are often added to water to inhibit the microbial activity of sulfate-reducing bacteria in order to avoid anaerobic methane oxidation and to minimize potential production loss.
Biochemistry
Before sulfate can be used as an electron acceptor, it has to be activated. This is done which the enzyme ATP-sulfurylase, which uses ATPAdenosine triphosphate
Adenosine-5'-triphosphate is a multifunctional nucleoside triphosphate used in cells as a coenzyme. It is often called the "molecular unit of currency" of intracellular energy transfer. ATP transports chemical energy within cells for metabolism...
and sulfate to create adenosine 5'-phosphosulfate (APS). APS is subsequently reduced to sulfite
Sulfite
Sulfites are compounds that contain the sulfite ion SO. The sulfite ion is the conjugate base of bisulfite. Although the acid itself is elusive, its salts are widely used.-Structure:...
and AMP
Adenosine monophosphate
Adenosine monophosphate , also known as 5'-adenylic acid, is a nucleotide that is used as a monomer in RNA. It is an ester of phosphoric acid and the nucleoside adenosine. AMP consists of a phosphate group, the sugar ribose, and the nucleobase adenine...
. Sulfite is further reduced to sulfide, while AMP is turned into ADP
Adenosine diphosphate
Adenosine diphosphate, abbreviated ADP, is a nucleoside diphosphate. It is an ester of pyrophosphoric acid with the nucleoside adenosine. ADP consists of the pyrophosphate group, the pentose sugar ribose, and the nucleobase adenine....
using another molecule of ATP. The overall process thus involves an investment of two molecules of the energy carrier ATP which have to be regained from the reduction.
Phylogeny
The sulfate-reducing bacteria have been treated as a phenotypic groupPhenotype
A phenotype is an organism's observable characteristics or traits: such as its morphology, development, biochemical or physiological properties, behavior, and products of behavior...
, together with the other sulfur-reducing bacteria
Sulfur-reducing bacteria
Sulfur-reducing bacteria get their energy by reducing elemental sulfur to hydrogen sulfide. They couple this reaction with the oxidation of acetate, succinate or other organic compounds....
, for identification purposes. They are found in several different phylogenetic lines. As of 2009, 60 genera containing 220 species of sulfate-reducing bacteria were known.
Among the Deltaproteobacteria
Deltaproteobacteria
Deltaproteobacteria is a class of Proteobacteria. All species of this group are, like all Proteobacteria, gram-negative.The Deltaproteobacteria comprise a branch of predominantly aerobic genera, the fruiting-body-forming Myxobacteria which release myxospores in unfavorable environments, and a...
the orders of sulfate-reducing bacteria include: Desulfobacterales
Desulfobacterales
The Desulfobacterales are an order of sulfate-reducing bacteria, included among the Proteobacteria. There are three families. They are sulfate-reducing bacteria, reducing sulfates to sulfides to obtain energy. They are strictly anaerobe.-References:...
, Desulfovibrionales
Desulfovibrionales
The Desulfovibrionales are an order of Proteobacteria, with four families. Like all Proteobacteria, they are gram-negative. The majority are sulfate-reducing, with the exception of Lawsonia and Bilophila. All members of this order are strictly anaerobic. Most species are mesophilic, there are also...
and Syntrophobacterales
Syntrophobacterales
The Syntrophobacterales are an order of Proteobacteria, with two families. Many of the family Syntrophobacteraceae are sulfate-reducing....
. This accounts for the largest group of sulfate-reducing bacteria, about 23 genera.
The second largest group of sulfate-reducing bacteria.is found among the Firmicutes
Firmicutes
The Firmicutes are a phylum of bacteria, most of which have Gram-positive cell wall structure. A few, however, such as Megasphaera, Pectinatus, Selenomonas and Zymophilus, have a porous pseudo-outer-membrane that causes them to stain Gram-negative...
, including the genera Desulfotomaculum
Desulfotomaculum
Desulfotomaculum is a genus of Gram-positive, obligately anaerobic soil bacteria. A type of sulfate-reducing bacteria, Desulfotomaculum can cause food spoilage in poorly processed canned foods . Their presence can be identified by the release of hydrogen sulfide gas with its rotten egg smell when...
, Desulfosporomusa and Desulfosporosinus.
In the Nitrospirae
Nitrospirae
Nitrospira is a genus of bacteria in the phylum Nitrospirae. The first member of this genus was described 1986 by Watson et al. isolated from the Gulf of Maine. The bacterium was named Nitrospira marina. The second member of this genus was discovered in 1995 from a corroded iron pipe in a Moscow...
division we find sulfate-reducing Thermodesulfovibrio species.
Two more groups including thermophile
Thermophile
A thermophile is an organism — a type of extremophile — that thrives at relatively high temperatures, between 45 and 122 °C . Many thermophiles are archaea...
sulfate-reducing bacteria are given their own phyla, the Thermodesulfobacteria
Thermodesulfobacteria
The Thermodesulfobacteria are a phylum of thermophilic sulfate-reducing bacteria.-Phylogeny:The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature and the phylogeny is based on 16S rRNA-based LTP release 106 by The All-Species Living Tree Project...
and Thermodesulfobium.
There are also three genera of Archaea
Archaea
The Archaea are a group of single-celled microorganisms. A single individual or species from this domain is called an archaeon...
known to be capable of sulfate reduction: Archaeoglobus
Archaeoglobus
Archaeoglobus is a genus of the phylum Euryarchaeota. Archaeoglobus can be found in high-temperature oil fields where they may contribute to oil field souring.- Metabolism :...
, Thermocladium
Thermocladium
In taxonomy, Thermocladium is a genus of the Thermoproteaceae.-External links:...
and Caldivirga
Caldivirga
In taxonomy, Caldivirga is a genus of the Thermoproteaceae.-External links:...
. They are found in hydrothermal vents, oil deposits, and hot springs.