bioRxiv Science⌕ Search
Home/Archive/bioRxiv

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2024.12.18.629290

Stable isotope probing of carbonyl sulfide and cyanate pathways in microbial thiocyanate biodegradation

Ling, Y.-C.·Watts, M. P.·Moreau, J.
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Thiocyanate (SCN-) is toxic to many aquatic organisms at elevated concentrations. Historically, large amounts of SCN- were released to the environment by gold mining and coal coking. Microbial SCN- degradation provides a cost-effective approach to remediation; however, knowledge is still limited about the relative roles of the two known enzymatic SCN- biodegradation pathways. Here we applied stable carbon and nitrogen isotope probing of SCN--degrading microbial cultures to assess quantitatively the relative contributions of the cyanate (OCN-) and carbonyl sulfide (COS) pathways over a 24-hour experiment. In contrast to common assumptions, our results demonstrate that the OCN- pathway initiates before the COS pathway and can contribute up to 70% of early SCN- biodegradation. These results yield new insights into the dynamics of SCN- biodegradation, and also show that microorganisms can incorporate carbon and nitrogen from the SCN- into biomass, resolving the question of nitrogen mass balance. Our study holds implications for improving bioreactor design for SCN- bioremediation and for understanding the dynamics for sulfur, carbon and nitrogen flows from SCN- in natural environments into their respective biogeochemical cycles. ImportanceWhile the process of SCN- biodegradation has been well studied, relative contributions from the two known enzymatic pathways are still poorly resolved, hindering our ability to optimize bioremediation systems treating SCN--contaminated wastewater. Also, as SCN- biodegradation in nature impacts the biogeochemical cycling of sulfur (as well as carbon and nitrogen), a more quantitative understanding of enzymatic SCN- biodegradation pathways will yield insights into how the reactivity of this environmentally ubiquitous compound influences marine, terrestrial and atmospheric sulfur chemistry. Here we used carbon and nitrogen stable isotope probing to assess contributions to SCN- biodegradation from known enzymatic pathways in a microbial consortium grown from SCN--contaminated mine tailings. We found that the cyanate pathway dominates SCN- biodegradation initially, before activation of the carbonyl sulfide pathway. We attribute this ordering to the greater amount of bioenergy conservable via the cyanate pathway during the earliest stages of bioremediation.

Explore related subjects

microbiologyPreprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Ling, Y.-C., Watts, M. P., Moreau, J.. 2025-01-03. Stable isotope probing of carbonyl sulfide and cyanate pathways in microbial thiocyanate biodegradation. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.12.18.629290

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

Matrix-controlled emergence of biofilm architecture shapes antimicrobial survival

Biofilms are structured microbial communities whose extracellular matrix is widely regarded as a basis of their protection against antimicrobial compounds. Yet how matrix production by individual bacteria gives rise to collective architecture and antimicrobial protection remains poorly understood. Here, we systematically varied expression of the master biofilm regulator csgD in Salmonella enterica and found that increasing matrix production reorganizes biofilms from dense, isotropic packings into sparse, nematically aligned communities by altering cell-cell interactions. By combining experimentally measured biofilm architectures with reaction-diffusion modeling, we show that these structural changes produce distinct patterns of antimicrobial killing, ranging from preferential killing near the liquid-biofilm interface to more uniform killing throughout the community. Consequently, increasing matrix production unexpectedly reduces antimicrobial survival by shifting the biofilm into different transport regimes, while strain-specific physiological differences further modulate antimicrobial depletion. Rather than acting as a passive barrier, EPS therefore shapes antimicrobial susceptibility by reorganizing biofilm architecture and its transport properties. EPS thus provides a physical link between molecular regulation, collective architecture and antimicrobial survival, providing a quantitative framework for understanding how cellular matrix production generates emergent biofilm function.

microbiology↗
bioRxiv2026

Mapping virulence-associated protein interaction networks reveals regulators of thermotolerance in Cryptococcus neoformans

Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) influence critical biological processes in pathogenic microorganisms, such as the human fungal pathogen, Cryptococcus neoformans. Fungal thermotolerance and stress response pathways are key virulence determinants that directly impact pathogen adaptation and survival and the infection process. To establish a comprehensive baseline of PPIs in C. neoformans and explore these interactions to infer functional roles for uncharacterized proteins, we applied size exclusion chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry to the secreted and cellular proteomes of the fungi. As a result, 216 and 1699 unique proteins were identified across 24 secretome and proteome fractions, respectively. The predicted secretome networks included expected proteins associated with vesicles and virulence, indicating a role in extracellular defense. Whereas the cryptococcal proteome highlighted interactions among proteins with defined roles in fungal virulence for protein stability and thermotolerance, including two previously uncharacterized proteins, CNAG_00287 and CNAG_05199, putatively involved in complex formation with heat-shock proteins (HSP). Based on sequence and structure homology, we propose that CNAG_00287 is a tetratricopeptide repeat-containing co-chaperone that modulates Hsp 70 activity and CNAG_05199 functions as a Hsp70. We validated the thermotolerance role of CNAG_00287 in heat-related stress, as its absence significantly impaired fungal growth in nutrient-limited media at 37 {degrees}C. Together, this work resolves virulence-associated PPIs within C. neoformans and reveals new molecular regulators of thermotolerance that underpin fungal pathogenicity.

microbiology↗
bioRxiv2026

Environmental filtering and host identity collectively shape root-associated microbiomes of Ericaceae and ectomycorrhizal plants in fumarole fields

Background Symbiosis with microbes is a key strategy that has enabled plants to colonize extreme environments. Since the benefits conferred by root-associated microbes depend on both environmental conditions and host-microbe combinations, plant adaptation to harsh environments is closely linked to the assembly of root microbial communities. Understanding how environmental and host filtering jointly shape these communities is therefore fundamental to elucidating the mechanisms underlying plant adaptation to extreme environments. Results In this study, we investigated the differentiation of root-associated prokaryotic and fungal communities and individual operational taxonomic units (OTUs) across two contrasting habitats surrounding fumaroles, solfatara-field and forest-edge habitats, and six dominant Ericaceae and ectomycorrhizal plant taxa. Prokaryotic and fungal OTUs rarely exhibited strong preferences for both habitat and host identity. Instead, many of prokaryotic and fungal OTUs specialized to one of these niches, collectively generating root microbial communities differentiated by both factors. Nonetheless, striking specializations in habitat and host niches were observed in the fungal family Hyaloscyphaceae (Helotiales). To gain insight into the evolutionary basis of microbial specialization, we examined phylogenetic signals in preference phenotypes. The resulting weak phylogenetic signals in these preference phenotypes further suggest that this fungal clade has undergone substantial ecological divergence. Conclusion Overall, our findings indicate that root-associated microbial communities in extreme environments are assembled through the accumulation of microbial taxa specialized to either habitat or host, and that strong ecological specialization in fungi can arise with little phylogenetic constraint.

microbiology↗