Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 3, 2025
03:55
A Sensitive Visual Method for the Detection of Hydrogen Sulfide Producing Bacteria
Published on: June 27, 2022
3.5K
Identifying Bacteria Responsible for Non-Sulphate-Based Hydrogen Sulphide Production in Aquaculture
Alexandre Nguyen-Tiêt1, Fernando Puente-Sánchez2, Stefan Bertilsson2
1DTU Aqua, Section for Aquaculture, Technical University of Denmark, Hirtshals, Denmark.
Environmental Microbiology
|January 8, 2025
Summary
Microbes can produce hydrogen sulfide (H2S) without sulfate by degrading cysteine. This non-sulfate H2S production is faster than sulfate-based methods, involving specific bacterial families and the cyuA enzyme.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Environmental Science
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Microbiological hydrogen sulfide (H2S) production is a problem in engineered systems.
- Sulfate-free H2S production pathways are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- Identify bacteria and pathways for non-sulfate H2S production from cysteine.
- Compare cysteine- and sulfate-based H2S production rates.
Main Methods:
- Anaerobic enrichment bioreactors using aquaculture system material.
- 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and metagenomic analysis.
- Metagenome- and metatranscriptome-assembled genomes.
Main Results:
- Identified four bacterial families (Dethiosulfatibacteraceae, Fusobacteriaceae, Vibrionaceae, Desulfovibrionaceae) central to non-sulfate H2S production.
- Cysteine degradation via cysteine desulphidase (cyuA) is the primary pathway.
- Cysteine-based H2S production is more rapid than sulfate-based production.
Conclusions:
- Non-sulfate H2S production from cysteine is significant and rapid.
- Specific bacteria and the cyuA enzyme are key players in this process.
- Cysteine can serve as both a sulfur and carbon source for some bacteria.
