Norici Alessandra, Hell Ruediger, Giordano Mario
Dipartimento di Scienze del Mare, Laboratorio di Fisiologia Algale, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy.
Photosynth Res. 2005 Dec;86(3):409-17. doi: 10.1007/s11120-005-3250-0. Epub 2005 Nov 12.
Sulfur is one of the critical elements in living matter, as it participates in several structural, metabolic and catalytic activities. Photosynthesis is an important process that entails the use of sulfur during both the light and carbon reactions. Nearly half of global photosynthetic carbon fixation is carried out by phytoplankton in the aquatic environment. Aquatic environments are very different from one another with respect to sulfur content: while in the oceans sulfate concentration is constantly high, freshwaters are characterized by daily and seasonal variations and by a wide range of sulfur concentration. The strategies that algal cells adopt for energy and resource allocation often reflect these differences. In the oceans, the amount and chemical form of sulfur has changed substantially during the course of the Earth's history; it is possible that sulfur availability played a role in the evolution of marine phytoplankton communities and it may continue to have appreciable effects on global biogeochemistry and ecology. Phytoplankton is also the main biogenic source of sulfur; sulfur can be released into the atmosphere by algal cells as dimethylsulfide, with possibly important repercussions on global climate. These and related matters are discussed in this review.
硫是生物体内的关键元素之一，因为它参与多种结构、代谢和催化活动。光合作用是一个重要过程，在光反应和碳反应中都需要用到硫。全球近一半的光合碳固定是由水生环境中的浮游植物进行的。水生环境在硫含量方面彼此差异很大：海洋中的硫酸盐浓度一直很高，而淡水的特点是存在日变化和季节变化，且硫浓度范围很广。藻类细胞用于能量和资源分配的策略往往反映了这些差异。在海洋中，硫的数量和化学形态在地球历史进程中发生了很大变化；硫的可利用性可能在海洋浮游植物群落的进化中发挥了作用，并且可能继续对全球生物地球化学和生态产生显著影响。浮游植物也是硫的主要生物源；藻类细胞可将硫以二甲基硫的形式释放到大气中，这可能对全球气候产生重要影响。本综述将讨论这些及相关问题。
