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

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 source was isolated from an oil-contaminated environment. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis revealed that JVH1 oxidized PFPS to a sulfoxide and then a sulfone prior to cleaving the C-S bond to form an alcohol and, presumably, a sulfinate from which sulfur could be extracted for growth. Four known dibenzothiophene-desulfurizing strains, including Rhodococcus sp. strain IGTS8, were all unable to cleave the C-S bond in PFPS but could oxidize PFPS to the sulfone via the sulfoxide. Conversely, JVH1 was unable to oxidize dibenzothiophene but was able to use a variety of alkyl sulfides, in addition to PFPS, as sole sulfur sources. Overall, PFPS is an excellent tool for isolating bacteria capable of cleaving subterminal C-S bonds within alkyl chains. The type of desulfurization displayed by JVH1 differs significantly from previously described reaction results.