More Like this

1. Phosphine-Mediated Cleavage of Sulfur–Sulfur Bonds

   https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.organomet.2c00271  

   Tran, Phuong M.; Wang, Yuzhong; Xie, Yaoming; Wei, Pingrong; Lahm, Mitchell E.; Schaefer, Henry F.; Robinson, Gregory H. (November 2022, Organometallics)
2. Acquisition of elemental sulfur by sulfur‐oxidising Sulfolobales

   https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.16691  

   Fernandes‐Martins, Maria_C; Springer, Carli; Colman, Daniel_R; Boyd, Eric_S (August 2024, Environmental Microbiology)

   Abstract Elemental sulfur (S₈⁰)‐oxidising Sulfolobales (Archaea) dominate high‐temperature acidic hot springs (>80°C, pH <4). However, genomic analyses of S₈⁰‐oxidising members of the Sulfolobales reveal a patchy distribution of genes encoding sulfur oxygenase reductase (SOR), an S₈⁰disproportionating enzyme attributed to S₈⁰oxidation. Here, we report the S₈⁰‐dependent growth of two Sulfolobales strains previously isolated from acidic hot springs in Yellowstone National Park, one of which associated with bulk S₈⁰during growth and one that did not. The genomes of each strain encoded different sulfur metabolism enzymes, with only one encoding SOR. Dialysis membrane experiments showed that direct contact is not required for S₈⁰oxidation in the SOR‐encoding strain. This is attributed to the generation of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) from S₈⁰disproportionation that can diffuse out of the cell to solubilise bulk S₈⁰to form soluble polysulfides (S_x²⁻) and/or S₈⁰nanoparticles that readily diffuse across dialysis membranes. The Sulfolobales strain lacking SOR required direct contact to oxidise S₈⁰, which could be overcome by the addition of H₂S. High concentrations of S₈⁰inhibited the growth of both strains. These results implicate alternative strategies to acquire and metabolise sulfur in Sulfolobales and have implications for their distribution and ecology in their hot spring habitats. 

   more » « less
3. Organic sulfur was integral to the Archean sulfur cycle

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12396-y  

   Fakhraee, Mojtaba; Katsev, Sergei (December 2019, Nature Communications)
4. Sulfur isotopes reveal agricultural changes to the modern sulfur cycle

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac6683  

   Hermes, Anna L.; Dawson, Todd E.; Hinckley, Eve-Lyn S. (April 2022, Environmental Research Letters)

   Abstract The environmental fates and consequences of intensive sulfur (S) applications to croplands are largely unknown. In this study, we used S stable isotopes to identify and trace agricultural S from field-to-watershed scales, an initial and timely step toward constraining the modern S cycle. We conducted our research within the Napa River Watershed, California, US, where vineyards receive frequent fungicidal S sprays. We measured soil and surface water sulfate concentrations ([SO₄²⁻]) and stable isotopes (δ³⁴S–SO₄²⁻), which we refer to in combination as the ‘S fingerprint’. We compared samples collected from vineyards and surrounding forests/grasslands, which receive background atmospheric and geologic S sources. Vineyardδ³⁴S–SO₄²⁻values were 9.9 ± 5.9‰ (median ± interquartile range), enriched by ∼10‰ relative to forests/grasslands (−0.28 ± 5.7‰). Vineyards also had roughly three-fold higher [SO₄²⁻] than forests/grasslands (13.6 and 5.0 mg SO₄²⁻–S l⁻¹, respectively). Napa Riverδ³⁴S–SO₄²⁻values, reflecting the watershed scale, were similar to those from vineyards (10.5 ± 7.0‰), despite vineyard agriculture constituting only ∼11% of the watershed area. Combined, our results provide important evidence that agricultural S is traceable at field-to-watershed scales, a critical step toward determining the consequences of agricultural alterations to the modern S cycle. 

   more » « less
5. Sulfur speciation matters

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-024-01621-z  

   Sverjensky, Dimitri A (January 2025, Nature Geoscience)