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Desulfovibrio Isolate from the Microbiote of Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders Immobilizes Iron in Poorly Soluble Crystalline Sulfides

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Abstract

Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) of the genus Desulfovibrio are one of the groups occurring in elevated numbers in the gut of children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). Until now, high abundance of Desulfovibrio in individuals with RAS has been shown only by molecular methods. No cultured forms have been isolated from the gastrointestinal tract of autists. A conceivable mechanisms of SRB effect is conversion of iron into biologically unavailable forms of sulfides, causing its deficiency in the organism. In this study we isolated two Desulfovibrio strains from feces of the children with diagnosed ASD. In experiments Desulfovibrio desulfuricans AY5 formed crystalline iron sulfides, greigite and pyrite, containing iron in a biologically unavailable form.

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Funding

The work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project no. 20-34-70051.

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

O.P. Ikkert and M.V. Ivanov carried out biomineralization experiments; O.P. Ikkert performed diffraction analysis; A. Ukhova and V.S., Zyusman isolated and investigated the pure culture; L.B. Glukhova carried out DNA isolation and amplification; M.R. Avakyan performed phylogenetic analysis; O.V. Karnachuk planned the experiments and wrote the article.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to O. V. Karnachuk.

Ethics declarations

Parents of the children whose feces were used for SRB isolation were aware of the goal of the experiments and did not object to this study, for which a written confirmation exists. The Bioethich Committee of the Tomsk State University considered and approved the research (protocol no. 38).s

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

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Translated by P. Sigalevich

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Ikkert, O.P., Ivanov, M.V., Ukhova, A. et al. Desulfovibrio Isolate from the Microbiote of Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders Immobilizes Iron in Poorly Soluble Crystalline Sulfides. Microbiology 90, 268–271 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0026261721020041

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0026261721020041

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