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. 1986 Feb;51(2):398–407. doi: 10.1128/aem.51.2.398-407.1986

Adaptation to Hydrogen Sulfide of Oxygenic and Anoxygenic Photosynthesis among Cyanobacteria

Yehuda Cohen 2,*, Bo Barker Jørgensen 2, Niels Peter Revsbech 2, Ricardo Poplawski 2
PMCID: PMC238881  PMID: 16346996

Abstract

Four different types of adaptation to sulfide among cyanobacteria are described based on the differential toxicity to sulfide of photosystems I and II and the capacity for the induction of anoxygenic photosynthesis. Most cyanobacteria are highly sensitive to sulfide toxicity, and brief exposures to low concentrations cause complete and irreversible cessation of CO2 photoassimilation. Resistance of photosystem II to sulfide toxicity, allowing for oxygenic photosynthesis under sulfide, is found in cyanobacteria exposed to low H2S concentrations in various hot springs. When H2S levels exceed 200 μM another type of adaptation involving partial induction of anoxygenic photosynthesis, operating in concert with partially inhibited oxygenic photosynthesis, is found in cyanobacterial strains isolated from both hot springs and hypersaline cyanobacterial mats. The fourth type of adaptation to sulfide is found at H2S concentrations higher than 1 mM and involves a complete replacement of oxygenic photosynthesis by an effective sulfide-dependent, photosystem II-independent anoxygenic photosynthesis. The ecophysiology of the various sulfide-adapted cyanobacteria may point to their uniqueness within the division of cyanobacteria.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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