Arylsulfonates as sole source of sulfur for Clostridium pasteurianum DSM 12136

A variety of arylsulfonates were examined for their ability to support growth of Clostridium pasteurianum as sole source of sulfur. Among the eleven different arylsulfonates tested, six of them (benzenesulfonate, 4-toluenesulfonate, 4-xylene-2-sulfonate, 4-aminobenzenesulfonate, 4-sulfobenzoic acid, 1,3-benzenedisulfonate) could serve as sole sulfur source for C. pasteurianum DSM 12136. None of the sulfonates tested could serve as sole sulfur source for C. pasteurianum ATCC 6013. The two C. pasteurianum in this study could not utilize any of these sulfonates as sole carbon and energy source. We demonstrated that desulfonation of arylsulfonates could take place under anoxic conditions and the sulfur atom of these compounds could be utilized as sole source of sulfur by anaerobic bacteria.