Bacterial transporters for sulfate and organosulfur compounds

Microorganisms require sulfur for growth, and obtain it either from inorganic sulfate or from organosulfur compounds such as sulfonates, sulfate esters, or sulfur-containing amino acids. Transport of sulfate into the cell is catalyzed either by ATP binding cassette (ABC)-type transporters (SulT family) or by major facilitator superfamily-type transporters (SulP family). By contrast, the sulfonate and sulfate ester transporters identified to date are all ABC-type systems, whose synthesis is tightly regulated by the sulfur supply to the cell, mediated by the CysB protein and other transcriptional regulators of the LysR-family.