This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Lomans, B. P.
Right arrow Articles by Vogels, G. D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Lomans, B. P.
Right arrow Articles by Vogels, G. D.
GeoRef
Right arrow GeoRef Citation
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Lomans, B. P.
Right arrow Articles by Vogels, G. D.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, May 1999, p. 2116-2121, Vol. 65, No. 5
0099-2240/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Role of Methanogens and Other Bacteria in Degradation of Dimethyl Sulfide and Methanethiol in Anoxic Freshwater Sediments

Bart P. Lomans,* Huub J. M. Op den Camp, Arjan Pol, Chris van der Drift, and Godfried D. Vogels

Department of Microbiology and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Nijmegen, NL-6525 ED Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Received 17 December 1998/Accepted 5 March 1999

The roles of several trophic groups of organisms (methanogens and sulfate- and nitrate-reducing bacteria) in the microbial degradation of methanethiol (MT) and dimethyl sulfide (DMS) were studied in freshwater sediments. The incubation of DMS- and MT-amended slurries revealed that methanogens are the dominant DMS and MT utilizers in sulfate-poor freshwater systems. In sediment slurries, which were depleted of sulfate, 75 µmol of DMS was stoichiometrically converted into 112 µmol of methane. The addition of methanol or MT to DMS-degrading slurries at concentrations similar to that of DMS reduced DMS degradation rates. This indicates that the methanogens in freshwater sediments, which degrade DMS, are also consumers of methanol and MT. To verify whether a competition between sulfate-reducing and methanogenic bacteria for DMS or MT takes place in sulfate-rich freshwater systems, the effects of sulfate and inhibitors, like bromoethanesulfonic acid, molybdate, and tungstate, on the degradation of MT and DMS were studied. The results for these sulfate-rich and sulfate-amended slurry incubations clearly demonstrated that besides methanogens, sulfate-reducing bacteria take part in MT and DMS degradation in freshwater sediments, provided that sulfate is available. The possible involvement of an interspecies hydrogen transfer in these processes is discussed. In general, our study provides evidence for methanogenesis as a major sink for MT and DMS in freshwater sediments.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Nijmegen, Toernooiveld 1, NL-6525 ED Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Phone: 31 (0) 24 3652315. Fax: 31 (0) 24 3652830. E-mail: bartl{at}sci.kun.nl.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, May 1999, p. 2116-2121, Vol. 65, No. 5
0099-2240/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Gauci, V., Matthews, E., Dise, N., Walter, B., Koch, D., Granberg, G., Vile, M. (2004). From the Cover: Sulfur pollution suppression of the wetland methane source in the 20th and 21st centuries. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 101: 12583-12587 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Lomans, B. P., Leijdekkers, P., Wesselink, J.-J., Bakkes, P., Pol, A., van der Drift, C., den Camp, H. J. M. O. (2001). Obligate Sulfide-Dependent Degradation of Methoxylated Aromatic Compounds and Formation of Methanethiol and Dimethyl Sulfide by a Freshwater Sediment Isolate, Parasporobacterium paucivorans gen. nov., sp. nov.. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 67: 4017-4023 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Lomans, B. P., Luderer, R., Steenbakkers, P., Pol, A., van der Drift, C., Vogels, G. D., Op den Camp, H. J. M. (2001). Microbial Populations Involved in Cycling of Dimethyl Sulfide and Methanethiol in Freshwater Sediments. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 67: 1044-1051 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Lomans, B. P., Maas, R., Luderer, R., Op den Camp, H. J. M., Pol, A., van der Drift, C., Vogels, G. D. (1999). Isolation and Characterization of Methanomethylovorans hollandica gen. nov., sp. nov., Isolated from Freshwater Sediment, a Methylotrophic Methanogen Able To Grow on Dimethyl Sulfide and Methanethiol. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65: 3641-3650 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»