Metabolism of dibenzothiophene by a Beijerinckia species

Beijerinckia B8/36 when grown with succinate in the presence of dibenzothiophene, accumulated (+)-cis-1,2-dihydroxy-1,2-dihydrodibenzothiophene and dibenzothiophene-5-oxide in the culture medium. Each metabolite was isolated in crystalline form and characterized by a variety of chemical techniques, cis-Naphthalene dihydrodiol dehydrogenase, isolated from Pseudomonas putida, oxidized (+)-cis-1,2-dihydroxy-1,2-dihydrodibenzothiophene to a compound that was tentatively identified as 1,2-dihydroxydibenzothiophene. The same product was formed when crude cell extracts of the parent strain of Beijerinckia oxidized (+)-cis-1,2-dihydroxy-1,2-dihydrodibenzothiophene under anaerobic conditions. Further metabolism of 1,2-dihydroxydibenzothiophene by heat-treated cell extracts led to the formation of 4[2-(3-hydroxy)-thionaphthenyl]-2-oxo-3-butenoic acid. The latter compound was metabolized by crude cell extracts to 3-hydroxy-2-formylthionaphthene. Further degradation of this metabolite was not observed.