Sano Ryoko, Kameya Masafumi, Wakai Satoshi, Arai Hiroyuki, Igarashi Yasuo, Ishii Masaharu, Sambongi Yoshihiro
Graduate School of Biosphere Science, Hiroshima University, CREST of Japan Science and Technology Corporation, Higashi-Hiroshima, Japan.
Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2010;74(4):892-4. doi: 10.1271/bbb.90948. Epub 2010 Apr 7.
The thermo-neutrophilic hydrogen-oxidizing bacterium Hydrogenobacter thermophilus constitutively oxidizes thiosulfate. Soluble extracts of it showed temperature-dependent thiosulfate oxidation activity with an optimum at 60 degrees C. A gene cluster for sox (sulfur oxidation) is presumably responsible for this activity. Among the cluster, two tandemly coded soxA genes were uniquely found. These results suggest that the Sox system is widespread even in thermo-neutrophilic environments.