Martzoukou Olga, Klenias Fotios, Kopsini Eleni, Hatzinikolaou Dimitris G
Enzyme and Microbial Biotechnology Unit, Department of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Heliyon. 2025 Jan 11;11(2):e41899. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e41899. eCollection 2025 Jan 30.
Biodesulfurization (BDS) has emerged as an alternative to the excessively costly hydrodesulfurization of recalcitrant heterocyclic sulfur compounds, such as dibenzothiophene (DBT) and its derivatives. The model desulfurizing strain IGTS8 is responsible for the removal of sulfur through the 4S metabolic pathway, operating through a plasmid-borne operon, as well as the chromosomal gene for the flavin reductase, . However, naturally occurring biocatalysts do not exhibit the required BDS activity to be useful for industrial applications and for this reason, genetic modifications are currently being explored. Here, we constructed a genetically modified IGTS8 strain, which carries an additional copy of the flavin reductase gene under the control of the rhodococcal promoter , inserted in the neutral chromosomal genetic locus . We conducted a comparative study of the growth and biodesulfurization capabilities of , wild-type and strains, grown on different types and concentrations of carbon and sulfur sources. A significant enhancement of biodesulfurization activity, maximum calculated biomass, and transcript levels in the presence of DBT as the sole sulfur source was achieved for the strain paving the way for further studies that could lead to a more viable commercial biodesulfurization process.
生物脱硫（BDS）已成为一种替代方法，用于处理难以处理的杂环硫化合物（如二苯并噻吩（DBT）及其衍生物）成本过高的加氢脱硫过程。模式脱硫菌株IGTS8通过4S代谢途径负责硫的去除，该途径通过质粒携带的操纵子以及黄素还原酶的染色体基因起作用。然而，天然存在的生物催化剂不具备工业应用所需的BDS活性，因此，目前正在探索基因改造方法。在此，我们构建了一种基因改造的IGTS8菌株，该菌株在红球菌启动子的控制下携带黄素还原酶基因的额外拷贝，插入到中性染色体基因座中。我们对在不同类型和浓度的碳源和硫源上生长的IGTS8、野生型和基因改造菌株的生长和生物脱硫能力进行了比较研究。在以DBT作为唯一硫源的情况下，基因改造菌株的生物脱硫活性、最大计算生物量和转录水平均显著提高，为进一步研究奠定了基础，有望实现更可行的商业生物脱硫工艺。
