Abstract
Biodesulfurization is emerging as a valuable technology for the desulfurization of dibenzothiophene (DBT) and its alkylated substitutes, which are otherwise regarded as refractory to other physical and chemical desulfurizing techniques. The inability of the currently identified pure cultures and artificial microbial consortia due to lower desulfurization rate and product inhibition issues has compelled the researcher to look for an alternative solution. Thus, in the present study, an indigenously isolated microbial consortium was employed to tackle the desulfurization issue. Herein, we isolated several kinds of DBT desulfurizing natural microbial consortia from hydrocarbon-contaminated soil samples by conventional enrichment technique. The most effective desulfurizing microbial consortium was sequenced through illumine sequencing technique. Finally, the effect of the products of the desulfurizing pathway (such as 2-hydroxybiphenyl (2-HBP) and sulfate (SO4−2) was evaluated on the growth and desulfurization capability of the isolated consortium. The outcomes of Gibb’s assay analysis showed that six isolates followed the “4S” pathway and converted DBT to 2-HBP. Among the isolates, I5 showed maximum growth rate (1.078 g/L dry cell weight) and desulfurization activity (about 77% as indicated by HPLC analysis) and was considered for further in-depth experimentation. The analysis of 16S rRNA by high-throughput sequencing approach of the I5 isolate revealed five types of bacterial phyla including Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Patescibacteria, and Actinobacteria (in order of abundance). The isolate showed significant tolerance to the inhibitory effect of both 2-HBP and SO4−2 and maintained growth in the presence of even about 1.0 mM initial concentration of both products. This clearly suggests that the isolate can be an efficient candidate for future in-depth desulfurization studies of coal and other fossil fuels.
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Acknowledgements
The author (Javed Khan) is thankful to the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan for giving the opportunity of a Ph.D. fellowship under the title MS Leading to Ph.D. under Aghaz e Haqooq e Balochistan Package. Likewise, the authors also acknowledge the funding facility provided by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan under the research grant program (Project ID 4568) named National Research Program for Universities (NRPU).
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MIA supervisor of JK design the study and reviewed the manuscript. JK performed the experiments, analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript. AJ, JKA, JHS, and AH helped in writing and reviewing the manuscript. All the authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. This study was commenced after getting approval from the Institutional Review Board of Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan. Written consent forms were filled out by all the members participating in this study.
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Khan, J., Ali, M.I., Jamal, A. et al. Assessment of the dibenzothiophene desulfurization potential of indigenously isolated bacterial consortium IQMJ-5: a different approach to safeguard the environment. Arch Microbiol 205, 95 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-023-03429-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-023-03429-8