title: Archaeal (per)chlorate reduction at high temperature: an interplay of biotic and abiotic reactions.
abstract: Perchlorate and chlorate anions [(per)chlorate] exist in the environment from natural and anthropogenic sources, where they can serve as electron acceptors for bacteria. We performed growth experiments combined with genomic and proteomic analyses of the hyperthermophile Archaeoglobus fulgidus that show (per)chlorate reduction also extends into the archaeal domain of life. The (per)chlorate reduction pathway in A. fulgidus relies on molybdo-enzymes that have similarity with bacterial enzymes; however, chlorite is not enzymatically split into chloride and oxygen. Evidence suggests that it is eliminated by an interplay of abiotic and biotic redox reactions involving sulfur compounds. Biological (per)chlorate reduction by ancient archaea at high temperature may have prevented accumulation of perchlorate in early terrestrial environments and consequently given rise to oxidizing conditions on Earth before the rise of oxygenic photosynthesis.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University, Dreijenplein 10, 6703 HB Wageningen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Martin G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Liebensteiner
authors.forename: Martijn W H
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Pinkse
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Schaap
authors.forename: Alfons J M
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Stams
authors.forename: Bart P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Lomans
mesh_terms: D019611:Archaeoglobus fulgidus / Q000201:enzymology*; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000378:metabolism; D010472:Perchlorates / Q000378:metabolism*; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D010472:Perchlorates; D010088:Oxidoreductases; C494474:perchlorate