Abstract
A wild-type strain of Rhodococcus equi, isolated from soil, degraded cholesterol, β-sitosterol, stigmasterol and mixed sterois to androst-4-ene-3,17-dione (AD) and androsta-1,4-diene-3,17-dione (ADD). A definite preference for a relatively simply structured cholesterol side chain was observed. Highest specific cholesterol side-chain cleavage was associated with active growth of the culture. Maximum yield of ADD was obtained when sodium acetate and cholesterol were incorporated together in the medium. Specific side-chain cleavage required the presence of 2,2′-dipyridyl, an inhibitor of ring cleavage.
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S. Ahmad and B.N. Johri are with the Department of Microbiology, College of Basic Sciences and Humanities, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantriagar 263 145, Nainital, UP, India. P.K. Roy, A.W. Khan and S.K. Basu are at Fermentation Technology Division, Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, India.
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Ahmad, S., Roy, P.K., Khan, A.W. et al. Microbial transformation of sterols to C19-steroids by Rhodococcus equi . World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology 7, 557–561 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00368360
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00368360