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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2009, p. 1820-1825, Vol. 75, No. 7
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02562-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Antimicrobial Activity of the Iron-Sulfur Nitroso Compound Roussin's Black Salt [Fe4S3(NO)7] on the Hyperthermophilic Archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus{triangledown}

Scott D. Hamilton-Brehm, Gerrit J. Schut, and Michael W. W. Adams*

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-7229

Received 10 November 2008/ Accepted 22 January 2009

The iron-sulfur nitroso compound [Fe4S3(NO)7]– is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent that has been used for more than 100 years to combat pathogenic anaerobes. Known as Roussin's black salt (RBS), it contains seven moles of nitric oxide, the release of which was always assumed to mediate its cytotoxicity. Using the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus, it is demonstrated through growth studies, membrane analyses, and scanning electron microscopy that nitric oxide does not play a role in RBS toxicity; rather, the mechanism involves membrane disruption leading to cell lysis. Moreover, insoluble elemental sulfur (S0), which is reduced by P. furiosus to hydrogen sulfide, prevents cell lysis by RBS. It is proposed that S0 also directly interacts with the membranes of P. furiosus during its transfer into the cell, ultimately for reduction by a cytosolic NADPH sulfur reductase. RBS is proposed to be a new class of inorganic antimicrobial agent that also has potential use as an inert cell-lysing agent.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Davison Life Sciences Complex, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-7229. Phone: (706) 542-2060. Fax: (706) 542-0229. E-mail: adams{at}bmb.uga.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 5 February 2009.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2009, p. 1820-1825, Vol. 75, No. 7
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02562-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

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