Abstract
The bacterium, Rhodococcus erythropolis H-2, which can utilize dibenzothiophene (DBT) as a sole source of sulfur in the presence of hydrocarbon, was isolated from soil samples. When this strain was cultivated in a medium containing 0.27 mM DBT and 40% n-tetradecane, DBT was metabolized stoichiometrically to 2-hydroxybiphenyl within 1 day. This strain grew in the presence of n-octane and longer-carbonchain hydrocarbons, but not with n-hexane, styrene, p-xylene, cyclooctane or toluene. DBT degradation proceeded in the resting cell system with lyophilized cells of this strain. The addition of n-tetradecane enhanced the reaction rate, the optimal concentration being 40%. DBT degradation occurred in the reaction mixture even in the presence of 70% n-tetradecane, whereas at concentrations above 80% n-tetradecane suppressed the degradation.
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Ohshiro, T., Hirata, T. & Izumi, Y. Microbial desulfurization of dibenzothiophene in the presence of hydrocarbon. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 44, 249–252 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00164510
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00164510