ABSTRACT
The mineral elements sulphur and phosphorus are essential for all living organisms. Sulphur can even be used as an alternative to oxygen by some bacteria. Sulphur is normally taken in by bacteria and plants as sulphate and is reduced before being incorporated into proteins and coenzymes. Sulphur, in the form of the thiol group, is used as a redox mediator and facilitator of chemical reactions as well as a means of providing covalent bonds between polypeptides in protein conformation.
