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Updated: Aug 20, 2025
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Sulfur incorporation into biomolecules: recent advances
Shramana Chatterjee1, Robert P Hausinger1,2
1Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
Critical Reviews in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
|November 20, 2022
Summary
This review explores novel sulfur metabolism pathways, detailing sacrificial transfers and iron-sulfur cluster destruction in essential biomolecule synthesis.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Bioinorganic Chemistry
Background:
- Sulfur is vital for all life, forming essential biomolecules like cysteine and methionine.
- Established pathways incorporate sulfur into central metabolites and persulfide intermediates.
Approach:
- Surveys established sulfur metabolism pathways.
- Emphasizes recent, unconventional biosynthetic routes and chemical mechanisms.
Key Points:
- Details sacrificial sulfur transfers from protein cysteinyl side chains.
- Highlights iron-sulfur cluster destruction in synthesizing lipoic acid and biotin.
- Explains sulfur transfers using [4Fe-4S] clusters for thioamides and alternative cofactor biosynthesis.
Conclusions:
- Recent discoveries reveal diverse sulfur incorporation mechanisms beyond traditional pathways.
- Focuses on chemical transformations, setting groundwork for future research into sulfur metabolism.
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