Enhancement and stabilization of desulfurization activity of Rhodococcus erythropolis KA2-5-1 by feeding ethanol and sulfur components

Abstract

We developed a fed-batch culture system fed with ethanol and restricted amounts of sulfur compounds to enhance and stabilize the desulfurizing activity in bacterial cells. In this system using dibenzothiophene (DBT) as the sole sulfur source, a desulfurizing bacterium Rhodococcus erythropolis KA2-5-1 cultivated with small amounts of sulfur showed stable desulfurizing activity and a low rate of growth. However, the cells cultured with excess amounts of sulfur showed unstable activity and a high growth rate. DBT had disadvantages as a sulfur source for cultivation because it is immiscible with water and toxic to cells. We then investigated water-soluble sulfur compounds for use as the sole sulfur source for the cultivation of R. erythropolis KA2-5-1 with desulfurizing activity, and found 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid to be the most effective. When 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid was used instead of DBT as the sole sulfur source in the fed-batch fermentation system, R. erythropolis KA2-5-1 showed the highest desulfurizing activity, 111 mmol of 2-HBP/kg-cells/h, a high growth rate (μ = 0.37/h) and a final cell concentration of 20.0 g-dry cells/ l during 89 h of cultivation. The production levels of the desulfurizing enzymes in the bacterial cells cultivated with DBT or 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid were evaluated by immunoblot analysis with specific antisera, indicating that the same quantity of desulfurizing enzymes was expressed in both cases.