Key Role for Sulfur in Peptide Metabolism and in Regulation of Three Hydrogenases in the Hyperthermophilic Archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus

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Abstract
The hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosusgrows optimally at 100°C by the fermentation of peptides and carbohydrates. Growth of the organism was examined in media containing either maltose, peptides (hydrolyzed casein), or both as the carbon source(s), each with and without elemental sulfur (S0). Growth rates were highest on media containing peptides and S0, with or without maltose. Growth did not occur on the peptide medium without S0. S0 had no effect on growth rates in the maltose medium in the absence of peptides. Phenylacetate production rates (from phenylalanine fermentation) from cells grown in the peptide medium containing S0 with or without maltose were the same, suggesting that S0 is required for peptide utilization. The activities of 14 of 21 enzymes involved in or related to the fermentation pathways of P. furiosus were shown to be regulated under the five different growth conditions studied. The presence of S0 in the growth media resulted in decreases in specific activities of two cytoplasmic hydrogenases (I and II) and of a membrane-bound hydrogenase, each by an order of magnitude. The primary S0-reducing enzyme in this organism and the mechanism of the S0 dependence of peptide metabolism are not known. This study provides the first evidence for a highly regulated fermentation-based metabolism in P. furiosus and a significant regulatory role for elemental sulfur or its metabolites.

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