MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY

Faculty of Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources

Management
NAME : COURAGE BRIGHT MAGOMANA R2111301N 2.2

: ROSEMARY CHINYANGA R225171R 2.2

: GERALD SIWANA R221128P 2.2

: PATRICIA KOCHIWE R226564Y 2.2

: WAYNE GUNDA R226665 2.2

PROGRAMME : Environmental Science and Technology

MODULE CODE : EST202

YEAR : 2023
Describe the biological transformations of sulfur in the environment.

Sulfur is a chemical element that's represented by the symbol "S" on the periodic table. It's
a non-metal element that's found in nature as a yellow, crystalline solid ,it exist in nature
and is found in soil water food and plants. It has a variety of uses, including as a component
of matches, gunpowder and fertilizers.Organic forms of S represent up to 90% of the total
soil.These forms can be classified into two major types which are C-bonded which S
constitutes up to 30% of the organic S and occurs in amino acids such as cysteine, cystine,
and methionine; Fe–S proteins called ferrodoxodins; polypeptides; heterocyclic compounds
such as biotin and thiamine, sulfinates, sulfones, sulfonates, and sulfoxides.

Sulfur is an element essential to life. Sulfur-containing amino acids maintain the secondary,
tertiary, and quaternary structures of proteins via disulfide linkages. Many enzymes are
inhibited when treated with reagents that destroy sulfhydryl groups. The sulfhydryl groups
are also involved in binding of substrates to enzymes. Reduced forms of S can serve as
energy sources or source of reducing power for some prokaryotes. Oxidized forms,
especially sulfate, can serve as terminal electron acceptors during anaerobic respiration. In
the soil environment, sulfur can undergo a variety of biological transformations. For
example, microorganisms can convert inorganic sulfur compounds, like sulfate, into organic
sulfur compounds. This process is known as sulfate reduction, and it's an important part of
the sulfur cycle in the soil. Organic sulfur compounds can also be converted back into
inorganic compounds through the process of sulfide oxidation.

The biological transformations of sulfur in the soil environment are an essential part of the
sulfur cycle. Sulfur undergoes various conversions driven by microbial activity and plant
interactions.

Mineralization

Carbon-bonded S is mineralized through various pathways which includes direct aerobic

mineralization during the oxidation of C as an energy source, anaerobic mineralization of
organic matter (desulfurization), incomplete oxidation of organic S into inorganic S
compounds, biological oxidation of H2S to sulfate via elemental S and sulfite, biological
oxidation of tetrathionate to sulfate via sulfide, (6) hydrolysis of cysteine by cysteine
desulfhydrolase and indirect (enzymatic) mineralization when sulfate esters are hydrolyzed
by sulfatases (Lawrence, 1987). The hydrolysis of ester sulfates occurs by splitting the O–S
bond, through the action of sulfatase enzymes:

R-O-SO-3 + H2O → ROH + H+ + SO42- .

There are numerous sulfatases, characterized by high specificity. They include sulfatases and
choline sulfatases, whose production is repressed in the presence of available SO 42-. The
sulfatases are bound to the cell walls of fungi..
Immobilization

Inorganic S is usually assimilated into organic compounds as SO2-4 by plants and most
microorganisms. This involves a series of enzymatic reactions called assimilatory SO2-4
reduction. In the first step, a permease enzyme participates in the transfer of SO 2-4 across
the cell membrane. This step requires the input of energy via ATP to form adenosine 5-
phosphosulfate (APS) and is catalyzed by ATP sulfurylase.

.Oxidation

In the presence of available electron acceptors, reduced forms of S are oxidized by both
chemical and microbial pathways. A wide variety of organisms are capable of oxidizing S in a
wide variety of environments. As with all soil organisms, the classification of these is
strongly affected by developing molecular techniques. The names of some of these
organisms may change and new ones may be added, but the basic physiology and enzymes
utilized will still apply. These organisms can be divided into three groups which are
photoautotrophs, including species of green and purple sulfur bacteria; chemolithotrophs,
such as members of the thiobacilli; and heterotrophs, including a wide range of bacteria and
fungi.

Once sulfide ions are generated through mineralization, they can undergo aerobic
oxidation. Certain bacteria, such as Thiobacillus, are capable of oxidizing sulfide ions to
produce elemental sulfur or sulfate ions (SO2-4). This oxidation process helps convert
reduced forms of sulfur to more oxidized forms, and it mainly occurs in well-aerated soils.

Reduction

Reduction of oxidized forms of S, particularly SO2-4 , by microorganisms occurs in two

different ways. In the first, S is incorporated into cellular constituents such as the S in amino
acids. This process is referred to as assimilatory sulfate reduction, or immobilization, as
described above. In the other, the reduction leads to the formation of sulfide (e.g., H2S) as
the end product. This is referred to as dissimilatory, or respiratory, sulfate reduction. This
process is mediated by anaerobic, organotrophic organisms that use low-molecular-weight
organic compounds or H2 as electron donors and the oxidized S compounds as terminal
electron acceptors in a process similar to denitrification. These organisms are responsible
for sulfide formation in waterlogged soils. Sulfate reduction is now recognized in a number
of bacterial genera (Castro et al., 2000). Sulfate-reducing bacteria are found over an
extensive range of pH and salt concentrations in saline lakes, evaporation beds, deep-sea
sediments, and oil wells. The organisms can tolerate heavy metal and dissolved sulfide
concentrations up to 2%. Because it is mediated mainly by anaerobic bacteria, sulfate
reduction is not important in well aerated soils, except in anaerobic micro sites, but is a
major component of the S cycle in periodically waterlogged or flooded soils such as rice
paddies (Germida et al., 1992).
Two groups of sulfate-reducing bacteria have been recognized (Germida et al., 1992). The
first group consists of bacteria that use organic C as an energy source, but do not completely
oxidize it to CO2. This group includes species of Desulfovibrio and Desulfotomaculum,
whose principle metabolic products are acetate and H2S, but some strains can also grow
fermentatively on pyruvate in the absence of sulfate. The second group is more diverse and
includes species of Desulfobacter, Desulfococcus, Desulfosarcina, and Desulfonema. These
species can completely oxidize organic C to CO2 by using SO2-4 as the terminal electron
acceptor.

Volatilization

The decomposition of organic S compounds in poorly drained soils, sediments, manures,

and organic wastes can lead to the formation of volatile organic S compounds. These
compounds include mercaptans such as methyl mercaptan (CH3SH) and alkyl sulfides such as
dimethyl sulfide (CH3SCH3). Volatile S compounds may be of importance because they can
inhibit plant growth, nitrification, and other biochemical processes. These compounds are
also undesirable atmospheric pollutants causing unpleasant odors and adversely affecting
climate.
REFERENCES

Bolin, B., Rosswall, T., Freney, J. R., Ivanov, M. V., and Richey, J. E. (1983). C, N, P, and S
cycles, major reservoirs and fluxes. In “The Major Biogeochemical Cycles and Their
Interactions” (B. Bolin and R. B. Cook, eds.), pp. 41–65. Wiley, New York.

Castro, H. F., Williams, N. H., and Ogram, A. (2000). Phylogeny of sulfate-reducing bacteria.
FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 31, 1–9.

Friedrich, C. G. (1998). Physiology and genetics of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria. In “Advances in

Microbial Physiology” (R. K. Poole, ed.), Vol. 39, pp. 235–289. Academic Press, San Diego.

Germida, J. J., Wainwright, M., and Gupta, V. V. S. R. (1992). Biochemistry of sulfur cycling in
soil. In “Soil Biochemistry” (G. Stotzky and J.-M. Bollag, eds.), Vol. 7, pp. 1–53. Dekker, New
York.

Eldor A. Paul (2019) Soil Microbiology , Ecology and Boichemistry Fourth Edition Elservier.