Biotechnology Letters, Vol.25, No.10, 797-803, 2003
Selective cleavage of 10-methyl benzo[b] naphtho[2,1-d] thiophene by recombinant Mycobacterium sp strain
Recombinant Mycobacterium sp. strain MR65 carrying dszABCD genes was used for desulfurization of 10-methylbenzo[b] naphtho[2,1-d] thiophene (10-methyl BNT) in the hexadecane phase. The specific activity was 25% of that of dibenzothiophene (DBT). One of two major metabolites of 10-methyl BNT produced by strain MR65 was identified as 1-methoxy-2-(3-methylphenyl)naphthalene by H-1 and C-13 NMR. The other major metabolite and two minor metabolites were determined as 1-hydroxy-2-(3-methylphenyl)naphthalene, 2-(2-methoxy-3-methylphenyl) naphthalene and 2-(2-hydroxy-3-methylphenyl)naphthalene, respectively, by HPLC and GC-MS. The production ratio of the two desulfurization metabolite isomers was 0.99:0.01, calculated on the basis of peak GC areas. These results indicated that the C-S bond adjacent to the naphthalene skeleton was selectively cleaved to form the two major compounds.