Investigation of growth properties of Paenibacillus strains in the presence of 2-HBP

Abstract

Crude oil and fossil fuels contain sulphur compounds. Consumption of these compounds could cause acid rain and environmental pollution. Dibenzothiophene (DBT) is considered as model compound for investigation of fossil fuel desulphurization. This compound is converted to 2-HBP following bio-desulphurization (BDS) by 4S pathway. This work aimed to investigate bacterial growth properties in the presence of 2-HBP which is a final product of DBT desulphurization. For this, two Paenibacillus strains (32 O-W and 32 O-Y) were incubated in 2-HBP (to give the final concentrations at 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 mM) containing growth media. Although the OD600 value of the 32 O-W strain was low at all 2-HBP concentrations, the 32 O-Y strain could survive, and its OD levels were 3–4 fold higher than 32 O-W strain. As a result, it can be interpreted that the final products of DBT metabolism did not too toxic, and thus bio-desulfurization can be successfully completed by Paenibacillus strains. Acknowledgments: This work was supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK, 118Y416)