Sulfide induces phosphate release from polyphosphate in cultures of a marine Beggiatoa strain.
Sulfur bacteria such as Beggiatoa or Thiomargarita have a particularly high capacity for storage because of their large size. In addition to sulfur and nitrate, these bacteria also store phosphorus in the form of polyphosphate. Thiomargarita namibiensis has been shown to release phosphate from internally stored polyphosphate in pulses creating steep peaks of phosphate in the sediment and thereby inducing the precipitation of phosphorus-rich minerals. Large sulfur bacteria populate sediments at the sites of recent phosphorite formation and are found as fossils in ancient phosphorite deposits. Therefore, it can be assumed that this physiology contributes to the removal of bioavailable phosphorus from the marine system and thus is important for the global phosphorus cycle. We investigated under defined laboratory conditions which parameters stimulate the decomposition of polyphosphate and the release of phosphate in a marine Beggiatoa strain. Initially, we tested phosphate release in response to anoxia and high concentrations of acetate, because acetate is described as the relevant stimulus for phosphate release in activated sludge. To our surprise, the Beggiatoa strain did not release phosphate in response to this treatment. Instead, we could clearly show that increasing sulfide concentrations and anoxia resulted in a decomposition of polyphosphate. This physiological reaction is a yet unknown mode of bacterial polyphosphate usage and provides a new explanation for high phosphate concentrations in sulfidic marine sediments.
Brock
Jörg
J
Department of Microbiology, Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany.
Schulz-Vogt
Heide N
HN
D053524:Beggiatoa / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000494:pharmacology; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000382:microbiology*; D010710:Phosphates / Q000378:metabolism*; D011122:Polyphosphates / Q000378:metabolism*; D013440:Sulfides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013455:Sulfur / Q000378:metabolism
D005227:Fatty Acids; D010710:Phosphates; D011122:Polyphosphates; D013440:Sulfides; D013455:Sulfur
Arch Microbiol. 1981 Jul;129(5):395-400
7283636
J Microbiol. 2008 Apr;46(2):115-24
18545960
Science. 1999 Apr 16;284(5413):493-5
10205058
Limnol Oceanogr. 1996 Dec;41(8):1629-50
11540503
Science. 2008 May 2;320(5876):652-5
18451299
Science. 1975 Apr 4;188(4183):15-8
17760149
Microb Ecol. 1975 Jun;2(2):119-38
24241234
Geobiology. 2009 Jun;7(3):295-307
19476504
Science. 2005 Jan 21;307(5708):416-8
15662012
Annu Rev Biochem. 1999;68:89-125
10872445
Biochim Biophys Acta. 1982 Dec 30;721(4):394-8
7159600
J Bacteriol. 1995 Feb;177(3):491-6
7836277
Appl Environ Microbiol. 1999 Nov;65(11):5107-16
10543829
Nature. 2007 Jan 11;445(7124):198-201
17183268
Annu Rev Microbiol. 2001;55:105-37
11544351