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.
Acetonema is a genus of bacteria in the family Veillonellaceae. It is H2-oxidizing CO2-reducing acetogenic strictly anaerobic endospore-forming Gram-negative motile rod-shaped, isolated from gut contents of the wood-feeding termite Pterotermes occidentis. Cells are catalase positive, oxidase negative, and have 51.5 mol percent G + C in their DNA. Optimum conditions for growth on H2 + CO2 are at 30–33 degrees C and pH (initial) 7.8. Acetonema longum is the sole species within the genus.
Caldithrix is a genus of thermophilic and anaerobic bacteria, currently assigned to its own phylum.
Thermoanaerobacter brockii, formerly Thermoanaerobium brockii, is a thermophilic, anaerobic, spore-forming bacterium.
Dehalogenimonas lykanthroporepellens is an anaerobic, Gram-negative bacteria in the phylum Chloroflexota isolated from a Superfund site in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is useful in bioremediation for its ability to reductively dehalogenate chlorinated alkanes.
Cryptobacterium curtum is a Gram-positive anaerobic rod bacteria isolated from human mouths.
Anaerococcus is a genus of bacteria. Its type species is Anaerococcus prevotii. These bacteria are Gram-positive and strictly anaerobic. The genus Anaerococcus was proposed in 2001. Its genome was sequenced in August 2009. The genus Anaerococcus is one of six genera classified within the group GPAC. These six genera are found in the human body as part of the commensal human microbiota.
Desulfotignum is a Gram-negative and strictly anaerobic bacteria with a single polar flagellum genus from the family of Desulfobacteraceae.
Allokutzneria multivorans is a bacterium from the genus Allokutzneria which has been isolated from soil from a river bank from the Nujiang River in Yunnan, China.
Caldanaerobius zeae is a Gram-positive thermophilic, anaerobic, non-spore-forming bacterium from the genus of Caldanaerobius which has been isolated from organic waste leachate in Hoopeston in the United States.
Caloranaerobacter is a Gram-negative, thermophilic, anaerobic and chemoorganotrophic bacterial genus from the family of Clostridiaceae.
Caloranaerobacter azorensis is a Gram-negative, thermophilic, anaerobic, chemoorganotrophic and motile bacterium from the genus of Caloranaerobacter which has been isolated from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent from the Lucky Strike hydrothermal vent site from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
Sabulilitoribacter multivorans is a Gram-negative, aerobic and rod-shaped bacteria from the genus of Sabulilitoribacter which has been isolated from sand from the South Sea in Korea.
Epibacterium multivorans is an aerobic bacteria bacterium from the genus of Epibacterium which has been isolated from seawater from the beach of Malvarrosa in Spain.
Coprothermobacter platensis is a species of moderately thermophilic and strictly anaerobic bacterium belonging to the family Coprothermobacteraceae within the phylum Coprothermobacterota.
Winogradskyella multivorans is a Gram-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped and motile bacterium from the genus Winogradskyella which has been isolated from seawater from a oyster farm in Korea. Winogradskyella multivorans has the ability to degrade polysaccharides.
Youngiibacter fragilis is a Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, rod-shaped and non-motile bacterium from the genus of Youngiibacter.
Youngiibacter multivorans is a Gram-negative bacterium from the genus of Youngiibacter.
The Ignavibacteriales are an order of obligately anaerobic, non-photosynthetic bacteria that are closely related to the green sulfur bacteria.
Sungkyunkwania is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped and non-motile genus of bacteria from the family of Flavobacteriaceae with one known species. Sungkyunkwania multivorans has been isolated from a seaweed farm from the South Sea from Korea. Sungkyunkwania is named after the Sungkyunkwan University.
