Open AccessOxidative desulfurization pathway for complete catabolism of sulfoquinovose by bacteria
Author(s) -
Mahima Sharma,
James P. Lingford,
Marija Petricevic,
Alexander Snow,
Yunyang Zhang,
Michael Järvå,
Janice Mui,
Nichollas E. Scott,
Eleanor Saunders,
Runyu Mao,
Ruwan Epa,
Bruna M da Silva,
Douglas E V Pires,
David B. Ascher,
Malcolm J. McConville,
G.J. Davies,
Spencer J. Williams,
Ethan D. GoddardBorger
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2116022119
Subject(s) - biochemistry , sulfite , metabolic pathway , catabolism , chemistry , oxidative phosphorylation , biology , enzyme
Significance Sulfoquinovose, a sulfosugar derivative of glucose, is produced by most photosynthetic organisms and contains up to half of all sulfur in the biosphere. Several pathways for its breakdown are known, though they provide access to only half of the carbon in sulfoquinovose and none of its sulfur. Here, we describe a fundamentally different pathway within the plant pathogenAgrobacterium tumefaciens that features oxidative desulfurization of sulfoquinovose to access all carbon and sulfur within the molecule. Biochemical and structural analyses of the pathway’s key proteins provided insights how the sulfosugar is recognized and degraded. Genes encoding this sulfoquinovose monooxygenase pathway are present in many plant pathogens and symbionts, alluding to a possible role for sulfoquinovose in plant host–bacteria interactions.