Mineralization of S from dibenzothiophene, dibenzothiophene sulphone, and benzene sulphonic acid by soil isolates.
The presence of substantial levels of organic S in coal is a major source of air pollution, and considerable efforts are being made to devise a cost-effective way of removing this form of sulphur. One method is to develop naturally occurring bacteria capable of heterocyclic organic S degradation and S mineralization. In this study, fourteen isolates capable of dibenzothiophene (DBT), dibenzothiophene sulphone (DBTS) or benzene sulphonic acid (BSA) decomposition were obtained from samples collected from an abandoned strip mine. The degradation of DBT varied from 4.4 to 91% and the mineralization of S as sulphate was less than or equal to 1.5%. Higher rates of DBTS decomposition were determined (94.9 to 97.7%) and S mineralization varied from 21.8 to 30.8%. The extent of BSA degradation could not be determined, but 57.8 to 71.1% of the S was mineralized as sulphate. All of the soil isolates possessed a single plasmid 20 to 23 kb in size.
Ochman
M
M
Department of Plant and Soil Science, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale 62901.
Klubek
B
B
Boydstun
J
J
Clark
D
D
Nabe
S
S
D000397:Air Pollution / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001557:Benzenesulfonates / Q000378:metabolism; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D010957:Plasmids; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D013455:Sulfur / Q000378:metabolism*; D013876:Thiophenes / Q000378:metabolism
D001557:Benzenesulfonates; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D013876:Thiophenes; C058517:dibenzothiophene 5-oxide; D013455:Sulfur; C016366:dibenzothiophene