Sulfonates and Organotrophic Sulfite Metabolism

Abstract

One is used to considering sulfite oxidation as part of a lithotrophic process (e.g. SorAB or Sox system), much of which involves neutral or ionic inorganic sulfur species on the outer surface of the cytoplasmic membrane. In contrast, the processes referred to in this chapter involve organic compounds, which (1) include a highly stable sulfonate substituent (C−SO3−), (2) are involved in the organotrophic growth of the organism and (3) much of whose metabolism takes place in the cytoplasm. Many phenomena are associated with this life-style. The sulfonate may be a natural product, e.g. taurine or sulfoquinovose, whose synthesis can involve sulfite, or a xenobiotic laundry detergent, but it is effectively always a charged species, so an uptake system is essential.