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 Roy, A. B.
Right arrow Articles by White, G. F.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Roy, A. B.
Right arrow Articles by White, G. F.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Roy, A. B.
Right arrow Articles by White, G. F.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 2003, p. 6434-6441, Vol. 69, No. 11
0099-2240/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.11.6434-6441.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Glycolytic Breakdown of Sulfoquinovose in Bacteria: a Missing Link in the Sulfur Cycle

Alexander B. Roy,1 Michael J. E. Hewlins,2 Andrew J. Ellis,1,{dagger} John L. Harwood,1 and Graham F. White1*

School of Biosciences,1 School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3US, United Kingdom2

Received 3 June 2003/ Accepted 18 August 2003

Sulfoquinovose (6-deoxy-6-sulfo-D-glucopyranose), formed by the hydrolysis of the plant sulfolipid, is a major component of the biological sulfur cycle. However, pathways for its catabolism are poorly delineated. We examined the hypothesis that mineralization of sulfoquinovose to inorganic sulfate is initiated by reactions of the glycolytic and/or Entner-Doudoroff pathways in bacteria. Metabolites of [U-13C]sulfoquinovose were identified by 13C-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in strains of Klebsiella and Agrobacterium previously isolated for their ability to utilize sulfoquinovose as a sole source of carbon and energy for growth, and cell extracts were analyzed for enzymes diagnostic for the respective pathways. Klebsiella sp. strain ABR11 grew rapidly on sulfoquinovose, with major accumulations of sulfopropandiol (2,3-dihydroxypropanesulfonate) but no detectable release of sulfate. Later, when sulfoquinovose was exhausted and growth was very slow, sulfopropandiol disappeared and inorganic sulfate and small amounts of sulfolactate (2-hydroxy-3-sulfopropionate) were formed. In Agrobacterium sp. strain ABR2, growth and sulfoquinovose disappearance were again coincident, though slower than that in Klebsiella sp. Release of sulfate was still late but was faster than that in Klebsiella sp., and no metabolites were detected by 13C-NMR. Extracts of both strains grown on sulfoquinovose contained phosphofructokinase activities that remained unchanged when fructose 6-phosphate was replaced in the assay mixture with either glucose 6-phosphate or sulfoquinovose. The results were consistent with the operation of the Embden-Meyerhoff-Parnas (glycolysis) pathway for catabolism of sulfoquinovose. Extracts of Klebsiella but not Agrobacterium also contained an NAD+-dependent sulfoquinovose dehydrogenase activity, indicating that the Entner-Doudoroff pathway might also contribute to catabolism of sulfoquinovose.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, P.O. Box 911, Cardiff CF10 3US, United Kingdom. Phone: 44 29 20874188. Fax: 44 29 20874116. E-mail: whitegf1{at}cardiff.ac.uk.

{dagger} Present address: Biocatalysts Ltd., Pontypridd CF37 5UD, United Kingdom.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 2003, p. 6434-6441, Vol. 69, No. 11
0099-2240/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.11.6434-6441.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Denger, K., Mayer, J., Buhmann, M., Weinitschke, S., Smits, T. H. M., Cook, A. M. (2009). Bifurcated Degradative Pathway of 3-Sulfolactate in Roseovarius nubinhibens ISM via Sulfoacetaldehyde Acetyltransferase and (S)-Cysteate Sulfolyase. J. Bacteriol. 191: 5648-5656 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Rein, U., Gueta, R., Denger, K., Ruff, J., Hollemeyer, K., Cook, A. M. (2005). Dissimilation of cysteate via 3-sulfolactate sulfo-lyase and a sulfate exporter in Paracoccus pantotrophus NKNCYSA. Microbiology 151: 737-747 [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»