Use of a novel fluorinated organosulfur compound to isolate bacteria capable of carbon-sulfur bond cleavage.

ABSTRACT: The vacuum residue fraction of heavy crudes contributes to the viscosity of these oils. Specific microbial cleavage of C-S bonds in alkylsulfide bridges that form linkages in this fraction may result in dramatic viscosity reduction. To date, no bacterial strains have been shown conclusively to cleave C-S bonds within alkyl chains. Screening for microbes that can perform this activity was greatly facilitated by the use of a newly synthesized compound, bis-(3-pentafluorophenylpropyl)-sulfide (PFPS), as a novel sulfur source. The terminal pentafluorinated aromatic rings of PFPS preclude growth of aromatic ring-degrading bacteria but allow for selective enrichment of strains capable of cleaving C-S bonds. A unique bacterial strain, Rhodococcus sp. strain JVH1, that used PFPS as a sole sulfur s

SUBMITTER: Van Hamme JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC368330 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature