Demonstration of the carbon-sulfur bond targeted desulfurization of benzothiophene by thermophilic Paenibacillus sp. strain A11-2 capable of desulfurizing dibenzothiophene.

Paenibacillus sp. strain A11-2, which had been primarily isolated as a bacterial strain capable of desulfurizing dibenzothiophene to produce 2-hydroxybiphenyl at high temperatures, was found to desulfurize benzothiophene more efficiently than dibenzothiophene. The desulfurized product was identified as o-hydroxystyrene by GC-MS and 1H-NMR analysis. Benzothiophene was assumed to be degraded in a way analogous to the 4S pathway, which has been well-known as a mode of dibenzothiophene degradation. These results suggest that benzothiophene desulfurization may share at least partially the reaction mechanism with dibenzothiophene desulfurization.