Sulfur-reducing bacteria are microorganisms able to reduce elemental sulfur (S0) to hydrogen sulfide (H2S). These microbes use inorganic sulfur compounds as electron acceptors to sustain several activities such as respiration, conserving energy and growth, in absence of oxygen. The final product of these processes, sulfide, has a considerable influence on the chemistry of the environment and, in addition, is used as electron donor for a large variety of microbial metabolisms. Several types of bacteria and many non-methanogenic archaea can reduce sulfur. Microbial sulfur reduction was already shown in early studies, which highlighted the first proof of S0 reduction in a vibrioid bacterium from mud, with sulfur as electron acceptor and H
2 as electron donor. The first pure cultured species of sulfur-reducing bacteria, Desulfuromonas acetoxidans, was discovered in 1976 and described by Pfennig Norbert and Biebel Hanno as an anaerobic sulfur-reducing and acetate-oxidizing bacterium, not able to reduce sulfate. Only few taxa are true sulfur-reducing bacteria, using sulfur reduction as the only or main catabolic reaction. Normally, they couple this reaction with the oxidation of acetate, succinate or other organic compounds. In general, sulfate-reducing bacteria are able to use both sulfate and elemental sulfur as electron acceptors. Thanks to its abundancy and thermodynamic stability, sulfate is the most studied electron acceptor for anaerobic respiration that involves sulfur compounds. Elemental sulfur, however, is very abundant and important, especially in deep-sea hydrothermal vents, hot springs and other extreme environments, making its isolation more difficult. Some bacteria – such as Proteus, Campylobacter, Pseudomonas and Salmonella – have the ability to reduce sulfur, but can also use oxygen and other terminal electron acceptors.
Macrococcus is a genus of Gram-positive cocci belonging to the family Staphylococcaceae. The genus was created in 1998.
Acetitomaculum is a genus in the phylum Bacillota (Bacteria). The single species is an acetogenic bacteria from the bovine rumen.
Acetoanaerobium is a genus in the family of Peptostreptococcaceae.
Acetofilamentum is a genus in the phylum Bacteroidota (Bacteria).
Acetomicrobium is a genus in the phylum Synergistota (Bacteria). In 2016, the former genus Anaerobaculum was folded into Acetomicrobium.
Thermoanaerobacter is a genus in the phylum Bacillota (Bacteria). Members of this genus are thermophilic and anaerobic, several of them were previously described as Clostridium species and members of the now obsolete genera Acetogenium and Thermobacteroides
Actinospica is a genus in the phylum Actinomycetota (Bacteria).
Adhaeribacter is a genus in the phylum Bacteroidota (Bacteria).
Deferribacter is a genus in the phylum Deferribacterota (Bacteria).
Deinobacterium is a genus in the Deinococcota phylum (Bacteria). Not to be confused with Deinobacter, a disused name for Deinococcus.
Agrococcus is a genus in the phylum Actinomycetota (Bacteria).
Agromyces is a genus in the phylum Actinomycetota (Bacteria).
Akkermansia is a genus in the phylum Verrucomicrobiota (Bacteria). The genus was first proposed by Derrien et al. (2004), with the type species Akkermansia muciniphila.
Alkalibacillus is a genus in the phylum Bacillota (Bacteria).
Alkalimonas is a genus in the phylum Pseudomonadota (Bacteria).
Croceicoccus is a genus in the phylum Pseudomonadota (Bacteria).
Mahella is a genus in the phylum Bacillota (Bacteria). The name Mahella derives from: Neo-Latin feminine gender dim. noun Mahella, named in honour of the American microbiologist Professor R.A. Mah, for his important contribution to the taxonomy of anaerobes.
Mangrovibacter is a genus in the order Enterobacterales. Members of the genus are Gram-stain-negative, facultatively anaerobic, nitrogen-fixing, and rod shaped. The name Mangrovibacter derives from:
Neo-Latin noun mangrovum, mangrove; Neo-Latin masculine gender noun, a rod; bacter, nominally meaning "a rod", but in effect meaning a bacterium, rod; Neo-Latin masculine gender noun Mangrovibacter, mangrove rod.
Mucispirillum is a genus in the phylum Deferribacterota (Bacteria). It is represented by the single species Mucispirillum schaedleri|. It has been found in the intestinal tract of some rodents and considered a commensal with some association to disease. This species has been found in cockroaches mice, turkeys, dogs, pigs, goats, termites, and sometimes humans. It is anaerobic and does not form spores. It is motile, flagellated and thought to have the ability to move through mucus.
