For years, scientists have explored the diversity of sulfur cycling at the largest scales, from the global sulfur cycle to the role of sulfur in ecosystems. Now, a new study has taken a closer look at the diversity of sulfur cycling at the smallest scales.

The study, published in Nature Communications, was led by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology and the University of Bremen. It examined the diversity of sulfur cycling at the scale of individual sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, which are found in many different environments, from the ocean to soils and sediments.

The researchers found that while individual sulfur-oxidizing bacteria shared common traits, they also had different metabolic strategies and ways of obtaining energy. They identified three distinct metabolic strategies among the bacteria, which had different levels of diversity. This finding suggests that sulfur cycling at the smallest scales is more diverse than previously thought.

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source: Phys.org