Reactions depending on iron sulfide and linking geochemistry with biochemistry

E Blöchl; M Keller; G Wachtershäuser; K O Stetter

doi:10.1073/pnas.89.17.8117

Reactions depending on iron sulfide and linking geochemistry with biochemistry

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1992 Sep 1;89(17):8117-20. doi: 10.1073/pnas.89.17.8117.

Authors

E Blöchl¹, M Keller, G Wachtershäuser, K O Stetter

Affiliation

¹ Lehrstuhl für Mikrobiologie, Universität Regensburg, Regensberg, Federal Republic of Germany.

Abstract

Iron sulfide gives rise to unusual reducing reactions: some dependent on FeS/H2S synergism [NO-3 --> NH3; HC(three bonds)CH--> H2C=CH2, H3C-CH3; -CH2-CO- --> -CH=CH-, -CH2-CH2-; HS-CH2-COOH --> CH3-COOH; others dependent on FeS alone [HS-CH2-CH2-X --> CH2=CH2 (where X = OH, SH, or NH2)]. The experimental conditions are geochemically plausible: 100 degrees C, aqueous, nearly neutral, and fastidiously anaerobic. These reactions establish additional facts of soil chemistry, organic geochemistry, and the global nitrogen cycle. Further, they point to the common evolutionary denominator of geochemistry and biochemistry.