|
 |  |




 |




 SULPHUR
‡ It is an essential element for life
‡ Sulphur makes up about 1% of the dry
weight of organisms as
‡ Constituents of protein (primarily the S-
containing amino acids, cysteine and
methionine), in coenzymes (e.g.,
coenzyme A, biotin, thiamine),in the form
of iron-sulfur clusters in metalloproteins,
and in bridging ligands
 RESERVOIRS OF SULPHUR
‡ In Valence states: -2 (sulfides) to +6 (SO42-)
‡ Sulfate -most stable
‡ Reservoirs
Deep oceanic rocks
Sediments
Freshwater
Ice
Atmosphere
Sea
 SULPHUR CYCLE
SHOWING THE ROLE OF
MICROORGANISMS
‡ Sulphur enters the atmosphere as HßS
and SOß by combustion of fossil fuels,
volcanic eruptions ,by decompostion of
organic materials and from surface of
oceans
‡ HßS also oxidies into SOß by certain
phtoplanktons this SOß is carried back to
earth as HßSO in rain water
 Oxidation of sulphur
‡ Sulphur (elemental form )cannot be
utilized by plants or animals
‡ Oxidation of sulphur to sulphates is done
by the bacterial genus Thiobacillus, the
genus Thiomicrospira, and the genus
Sulfolobus
‡ Example Thiobacillus thiooxidans
‡ Reaction
2S+2HßY+3Yß 2HßSY
 Assimilative Sulfate Reduction
(Desulfuration)
‡ The sulfate is reduced to organic groups
by plants animals , fungi and various
prokaryotes. It occurs anaerobically as
well as aerobically
‡ Degradtion of protiens liberates amino
acids some of which contain sulphur
‡ This sulphur is released from aminoacids
by enzymatic activity of many
heterotrophic bacteria
‡ Example Oroteus vulgaris.
‡ sulphur is Released into the environment to
form H2S
Reaction
CHßSH CH

cysteine desulfurase
CHNHß + HßO C=O + HßS + NH

COOH COOH

cysteine pyruvic
acid
Reduction of Sulfate into Sulfide

‡ Sulphates also be reduced to hydrogen

sulphide by soil microorganism
‡ Example genera :esulfovibrio and
:esulfotomaculum
‡ Reaction
4Hß +CaSO HßS + Ca(OHß) + 2HßO
 Oxidization of H2S
‡ Hydrogen sulphide resulting from sulphate
reduction and aminoacid decompostion is
oxidized to elemental sulphur by
photosynthetic sulphur bacteria
‡ example Chromatium and chlorobium
‡ Reaction
light
COß +2H2S (CH2O) + HßO + 2S
 Marine sulphur cycle
‡ Oceans in the form of dissolved sulfate
and sedimentary minerals
‡ Weathering and leaching of rocks and
sediments are its main sources to the
ocean.
‡ Dimethyl-sulfid (CH3)2S or DMS is the
major biogenic gases emitted from sea
 Photic Zone
‡ Assimilatory uptake of sulfate by phytoplankton
(both eukaryotic algae and prokaryotic
cyanobacteria)
‡ Most is assimilated into methionine and
cysteine.
‡ Methionine is converted by some phytoplankton
into _




 (DMSP) a
highly stable and soluble form of reduced sulfur.
‡ DMSP synthesis by marine photoautotrophs
accounts for about 50 x 101ß moles of sulfur per
year.
‡ DMSP synthesis is also important in the
carbon cycle
‡ its production is estimated to account for
3±10% of the global marine primary
production of carbon
‡ And its degradation supplies about 3±10%
of the carbon requirements of
heterotrophic bacteria in surface waters
‡ osmolyte,
‡ antioxidant
‡ cryoprotectant
‡ Some phytoplankton that produce DMSP have
enzymesDMSP-lyase, that cleave DMSP into
Dimethylsulfide (CH3)2S (DMS)and
( acrylic acid
‡ prymesiophytes ,dinoflagellates and bloom
forming taxa e.g. Emiliania, and Alexandrium
‡ Because of Demethylation pathway that does
not produce DMS, Bacteria from diverse
lineages produce DMS in limited amounts
‡ Instead, this pathway results in formation of
methiolpropionate and, subsequently,
methanethiol(CH3SH; MeSH)
‡ DMS emissions from the surface ocean to the
atmosphere range from 0.5 to 1.0x101ß moles
per year
‡ Once it is transferred to the atmosphere the
gaseous DMS is oxidized to tropospheric sulfate
aerosols and these particulate aerosols act as
cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), attracting
molecules of water. Water vapor condenses on
these CCN particles, forming the water droplets
that make up clouds.
‡ Clouds affect the Earths radiation balance and
thereby greatly influence its temperature and
climate.
 continental margin sediments
‡ As soon as organic material settles on the
seafloor, oxygen is rapidly exhausted and
sulfate is used as an electron acceptor by
sulfate-reducing prokaryotes (SRP) to
oxidize organic material
‡ As a result of this anaerobic respiration,
large amounts of foul-smelling sulfide are
produced.
‡ Some of the energy in the original organic
matter is conserved in the sulfide, and it
can be released by a special group of
bacteria
‡ The large, vacuolated sulfur bacteria of the
genera @eggiatoa, Thioploca, and
Thiomargarita can oxidize sulphide even
when oxygen is absent by using nitrate as
eletron acceptor
‡ They can play an important role in
phosphorous cycling
 Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents
‡ They are highly productive ecosystems
‡ At deep-sea hydrothermal vents, sulfate
precipitates out of seawater as anhydrite
(CaSO4) at temperatures above 150°C
‡ H2S is produced geothermally within the
oceanic crust as a result of rock-sea water
interactions at high temperatures
‡ The H2S contained in the ensuing reduced
hydrothermal fluids is utilized in energy-yielding
reactions by free-living and symbiotic sulfur-
oxidizing microbes
‡ Elemental sulfur (So) is a key substrate at
hydrothermal vents, particularly at higher
temperatures
‡ Thermophilic and hyperthermophilic
bacteria and archaea can use So as an
electron donor in either autotrophic or
heterotrophic metabolism
THANK U