College of Agriculture

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As the foundation of the land grant mission at Montana State University, the College of Agriculture and the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station provide instruction in traditional and innovative degree programs and conduct research on old and new challenges for Montana’s agricultural community. This integration creates opportunities for students and faculty to excel through hands-on learning, to serve through campus and community engagement, to explore unique solutions to distinct and interesting questions and to connect Montanans with the global community through research discoveries and outreach.

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search.filters.applied.f.department: search.filters.department.Microbiology & ImmunologySubject: search.filters.subject.archaea

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    Sulfide oxidation by members of the Sulfolobales
    (Oxford University Press, 2024-05) Fernandes-Martins, Maria C.; Colman, Daniel R.; Boyd, Eric S.
    The oxidation of sulfur compounds drives the acidification of geothermal waters. At high temperatures (>80°C) and in acidic conditions (pH <6.0), oxidation of sulfide has historically been considered an abiotic process that generates elemental sulfur (S0) that, in turn, is oxidized by thermoacidophiles of the model archaeal order Sulfolobales to generate sulfuric acid (i.e. sulfate and protons). Here, we describe five new aerobic and autotrophic strains of Sulfolobales comprising two species that were isolated from acidic hot springs in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) and that can use sulfide as an electron donor. These strains significantly accelerated the rate and extent of sulfide oxidation to sulfate relative to abiotic controls, concomitant with production of cells. Yields of sulfide-grown cultures were ∼2-fold greater than those of S0-grown cultures, consistent with thermodynamic calculations indicating more available energy in the former condition than the latter. Homologs of sulfide:quinone oxidoreductase (Sqr) were identified in nearly all Sulfolobales genomes from YNP metagenomes as well as those from other reference Sulfolobales, suggesting a widespread ability to accelerate sulfide oxidation. These observations expand the role of Sulfolobales in the oxidative sulfur cycle, the geobiological feedbacks that drive the formation of acidic hot springs, and landscape evolution.
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