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Utilization of hydrophobic bacterium Rhodococcus opacus B-4 as whole-cell catalyst in anhydrous organic solvents

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Abstract

Rhodococcus opacus strain B-4, which has recently been isolated as an organic solvent-tolerant bacterium, has a high hydrophobicity and exhibits a high affinity for hydrocarbons. This bacterium was able to survive for at least 5 days in organic solvents, including n-tetradecane, oleyl alcohol, and bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (BEHP), which contained water less than 1% (w/v). The biocatalytic ability of R. opacus B-4 was demonstrated in the essentially nonaqueous BEHP using indigo production from indole as a model conversion. By the catabolism of oleic acid for NADH regeneration, indigo production increased up to 71.6 μg ml−1 by 24 h.

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Acknowledgment

This work was partly supported by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan

    Shiho Yamashita, Masafumi Satoi, Yoshihiro Iwasa, Kohsuke Honda, Yuka Sameshima, Takeshi Omasa & Hisao Ohtake

  2. Department of Molecular Biotechnology, Hiroshima University, 1-3-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima, 739-8530, Japan

    Junichi Kato

Authors
  1. Shiho Yamashita
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  2. Masafumi Satoi
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  3. Yoshihiro Iwasa
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  4. Kohsuke Honda
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  5. Yuka Sameshima
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  6. Takeshi Omasa
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  7. Junichi Kato
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  8. Hisao Ohtake
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Correspondence to Kohsuke Honda.

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Yamashita, S., Satoi, M., Iwasa, Y. et al. Utilization of hydrophobic bacterium Rhodococcus opacus B-4 as whole-cell catalyst in anhydrous organic solvents. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 74, 761–767 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-006-0729-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-006-0729-3

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