The interdependence of the sulfane sulfur metabolism and sulfur amino acid metabolism was studied in the fungus
Aspergillus nidulans wild type strain and in mutants impaired in genes encoding enzymes involved in the synthesis of cysteine (a precursor of
sulfane sulfur) or in regulatory genes of the sulfur metabolite repression system. It was found that a low concentration of
cellular cysteine leads to elevation of two sulfane sulfurtransferases, rhodanase and cystathionine γ-lyase, while the level
of 3-mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase remains largely unaffected. In spite of drastic differences in the levels of biosynthetic
enzymes and of sulfur amino acids due to mutations or sulfur supplementation of cultures, the level of total sulfane sulfur
is fairly stable. This stability confirms the crucial role of sulfane sulfur as a fine-tuning regulator of cellular metabolism.
Keywords Sulfane sulfur -
Aspergillus nidulans