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

ABSTRACT 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.

Membrane-bound hydrogenase and sulfur reductase of the hyperthermophilic and acidophilic archaeon Acidianus ambivalens

A sulfur reductase (SR) and a hydrogenase were purified from solubilized membrane fractions of anaerobically grown cells of the sulfur-dependent archaeon Acidianus ambivalens and the corresponding genes were sequenced. The SR reduced elemental sulfur with hydrogen as electron donor [45 U (mg protein)−1] in the presence of hydrogenase and either 2,3-dimethylnaphthoquinone (DMN) or cytochrome c in the enzyme assay. The SR could not be separated from the hydrogenase during purification without loss of activity, whereas the hydrogenase could be separated from the SR. The specific activity of the hydrogenase was 170 U (mg protein)−1 with methyl viologen and 833 U (mg protein)−1 with DMN as electron acceptors. Both holoenzymes showed molecular masses of 250 kDa. In SDS gels of active fractions, protein bands with apparent masses of 110 (SreA), 66 (HynL), 41 (HynS) and 29 kDa were present. Enriched hydrogenase fractions contained 14 μmol Fe and 2 μmol Ni (g protein)−1; in addition, 2·5 μmol Mo (g protein)−1 was found in the membrane fraction. Two overlapping genomic cosmid clones were sequenced, encoding a five-gene SR cluster (sre) including the 110 kDa subunit gene (sreA), and a 12-gene hydrogenase cluster (hyn) including the large and small subunit genes and genes encoding proteins required for the maturation of NiFe hydrogenases. A phylogenetic analysis of the SR amino acid sequence revealed that the protein belonged to the DMSO reductase family of molybdoenzymes and that the family showed a novel clustering. A model of sulfur respiration in Acidianus developed from the biochemical results and the data of the amino acid sequence comparisons is discussed.

Minimal sulfur requirement for growth and sulfur-dependent metabolism of the hyperthermophilic archaeonStaphylothermus marinus

Staphylothermus marinusis an anaerobic hyperthermophilic archaeon that uses peptides as carbon and energy sources. Elemental sulfur (S°) is obligately required for its growth and is reduced to H2S. The metabolic functions and mechanisms of S° reduction were explored by examining S°-dependent growth and activities of key enzymes present in this organism. All three forms of S° tested—sublimed S°, colloidal S° and polysulfide—were used byS. marinus, and no other sulfur-containing compounds could replace S°. Elemental sulfur did not serve as physical support but appeared to function as an electron acceptor. The minimal S° concentration required for optimal growth was 0.05% (w/v). At this concentration, there appeared to be a metabolic transition from H2production to S° reduction. Some enzymatic activities related to S°-dependent metabolism, including sulfur reductase, hydrogenase, glutamate dehydrogenase and electron transfer activities, were detected in cell-free extracts ofS. marinus.These results indicate that S° plays an essential role in the heterotrophic metabolism ofS. marinus. Reducing equivalents generated by the oxidation of amino acids from peptidolysis may be transferred to sulfur reductase and hydrogenase, which then catalyze the production of H2S and H2, respectively.