Microbiology and Ecology of Filamentous Sulfur Formation

小行星9630054 地热产生的硫化合物，主要是硫化氢的微生物氧化，是支持深海热液喷口周围密集动物群落的能源基础。 为了扩大我们对这一过程的了解，在暖水喷口建立了实验室富集，在连续流反应器中将与沿海海洋沉积物接触的海水暴露于硫化氢。 形成了自持的白色絮凝剂材料，发现其由0.5-2.0微米宽和20-500微米长的固体硫细丝组成。 初步研究表明，丝状体是通过运动细菌的直接排泄产生的， 成为一个依恋的场所， 其他人群的持续排泄。 我们实验室的一项有趣观察表明，丝状硫可能是温水热液喷口海底以下区域自由生活的微生物硫化物氧化的丰富产物。 最近对东太平洋海隆所谓的“暴风雪”或“吹雪机”喷口大量排放的描述表明，大量白色絮凝剂物质被释放出来，并积聚成5厘米厚的垫子。 我们检查了这些材料，发现 它在微观上和化学上几乎与我们实验室反应器中产生的丝状硫材料相同。 该项目的总体目标是研究丝状硫形成的微生物生态学，并将这一信息应用于更好地了解温水热液喷口和其他硫化物开放流环境中发生的微生物过程。 我们将专注于三个相互依存的研究领域： (A)硫化物的过程和生理学表征 氧化 有机体直接 负责 丝状硫形成，并研究这些生物体和丝状产物之间的相互作用，推测 允许它们存在于高流体中 流动环境 (B)确定分类和系统发育特征 产生硫的丝状生物。 （丙） 测定 的 丝状硫形成的形态机制。 硫化氢氧化成丝状形式的元素硫是一种独特且未描述的现象，并提出了在湍流环境中微生物存在的新解决方案。 我们相信，拟议的研究将为我们理解海洋硫循环的微生物学提供一个有趣的新篇章，并将引入一种可能具有未来工业应用的新型硫。

9630054 Taylor The microbial oxidation of geothermally produced sulfur compounds, principally hydrogen sulfide, is the energy base for supporting dense animal communities surrounding deep-sea hydrothermal vents. To broaden our understanding of this process in warm water vents laboratory enrichments were established where seawater in contact with coastal marine sediments were exposed to hydrogen sulfide in continuous flow reactors. A self sustaining white flocculant material became established that was found to be comprised of solid sulfur filaments that were 0.5-2.0 micrometers wide and ranged between 20-500 micrometers in length. Preliminary studies have shown that the filaments are produced via direct excretion by a motile bacterium and the filaments produced become a site for attachment and continued excretion by other members of the population. An intriguing observation in our laboratory indicates that filamentous sulfur may be an abundant product of free-living microbial sulfide oxidation in subseafloor regions of warm water hydrothermal vents. Recent descriptions of an extensive discharge from so-called called "blizzard" or "snowblower" vents on the East Pacific Rise indicated large amounts of white flocculant material was released and accumulated into mats of 5 cm thickness. We have examined this material and found it to be microscopically and chemically nearly identical to the filamentous sulfur material produced in our laboratory reactors. The overall goal of this project will be to study the microbial ecology of filamentous sulfur formation, and to apply this information to a greater understanding of the microbial processes occurring in warm water hydrothermal vents and other sulfidic open flow environments. We will focus on three interdependent areas of research: (A) Characterization of the process and physiology of the sul fide oxidizing organism directly responsible for filamentous sulfur formation, and study of the interactions between these organisms and the filamentous product that presumably allow their existence in high fluid flow environments. (B) Determine the taxonomic and phylogenetic characteristics of coastal filamentous sulfur-producing organisms. (C) Determination of the morphological mechanism of filamentous sulfur formation. The oxidation of hydrogen sulfide to elemental sulfur of filamentous form is a unique and undescribed phenomenon, and suggests a novel solution to a microbial existence in turbulent environments. Proposed studies, we believe, will provide the beginnings of an interesting new chapter in our understanding of the microbiology of the marine sulfur cycle, and will introduce a novel form of sulfur that may have future industrial application.