Microbiology of thiobacilli and other sulphur-oxidizing autotrophs, mixotrophs and heterotrophs

Abstract

Recent studies on the ecophysiology of the obligate chemolithotroph Thiobacillus neapolitanus have given better insight into its specialization for an autotrophic mode of life. This appears not only from its high constitutive levels of autotrophic enzymes, but also from its possession of carboxysomes, which seem to be specialized organelles for CO 2 fixation and concentrating reducing power. At the same time, these organisms are metabolically versatile with respect to nitrogen assimilation pathways, and during starvation are able to utilize endogenous resources such as polyglucose for carbon and energy. Studies on the facultative chem olithotrophs such as Thiobacillus novellus and Thiobacillus A2 have shown that they can grow mixotrophically on mixtures of inorganic and organic substrates, i.e. they can utilize these compounds simultaneously provided that they are growth limiting. Thiobacillus A2 displays a remarkable flexibility not only with respect to the organic substrates that it can utilize but, for example, also in the choice of various pathways for glucose metabolism. Competition experiments carried out between specialized and versatile thiobacilli strongly indicate that the ecological advantage of the versatile thiobacilli may lie not so much in their short-term flexibility, but rather in their ability to grow mixotrophically. Studies on most heterotrophic chemolithotrophs are still in their infancy. Promising progress has been made in the study of the physiology of Beggiatoa species. Renewed interest in the sulphur-oxidizing bacteria stems from recent findings about their role in food chains, and their possible application in industry.