Dimethylsulfide metabolism in marine isolates and their role in the biogeochemical cycling of sulfur (575.8)

Abstract

Microbial degradation is a major sink for dimethylsulfide (DMS), a volatile organosulfur compound which has been implicated in climate control and the biogeochemical cycling of sulfur. While the majority of marine bacteria which are capable of growth on DMS are members of the Methylophaga genus and belong to the Gammaproteobacteria class, recent studies have demonstrated that bacteria belonging to the Alphaproteobacteria class are also able to metabolize DMS. For example, a DMS monooxygenase, which carries out the first step in the DMS degradation pathway, was recently isolated from Hyphomicrobium sulfonivorans, the first enzyme of its kind to be isolated and characterized.1 The enzyme is a member of the flavin‐linked monooxygenases of the luciferase family and is most closely related to nitrilotriacetate monooxygenases. This work reports on the DMS monooxygenase activity of several bacteria isolated from Mount Hope Bay, RI.Grant Funding Source: NSF