DESULFURIZATION OF ALKYL AND AROMATIC SULFIDES AND SULFONATES BY DIBENZOTHIOPHENE-DESULFURIZING RHODOCOCCUS SP STRAIN SY1

A dibenzothiophene (DBT)-desulfurizing bacterium, Rhodococcus sp, stra in SY1 could also use dimethyl sulfide (DMS), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO ), and several alkylsulfonates as sole sources of sulfur. Strain SY1 g rown on DMSO accumulated DMS, dimethyl sulfone (DMSO(2)), and methanol in the culture medium and methane in the gas phase, and methane was t he product of methanesulfonate desulfonation, These results indicated that strain SY1 could finally degrade DMS in the oxidative pathway via DMSO, DMSO(2), and methanesulfonate to methane and sulfate, reducing a part of DMSO back to DMS, From desulfonation patterns of alkyl and a romatic sulfonates, different types of desulfonation are proposed, Sul fate was suggested to repress the expression of the enzymes involved i n DBT desulfurization. Removal of the sulfate produced by the addition of BaCl2 enhanced the degradation rate of DBT about 14%.