# Integrated Omics Approaches to Explore a New System of Genetic Control of Dibenzothiophene Desulfurization and Aromatic Ring Cleavage by Gordonia alkanivorans Strain 135

## TL;DR

This study identifies a new genetic pathway in a bacterium for breaking down a harmful sulfur-containing pollutant, without relying on a previously known gene system.

## Contribution

The discovery of an alternative genetic system for dibenzothiophene desulfurization in non-dsz Gordonia alkanivorans strain 135.

## Key findings

- Strain 135 of Gordonia alkanivorans can use dibenzothiophene as a sulfur source without the dsz operon.
- The sfnB, tauD, and two acyl-dehydrogenase genes are key in the alternative desulfurization pathway.
- Integrated omics analyses revealed a novel genetic control system for aromatic compound degradation.

## Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic compounds and their substituted derivatives are hazardous environmental pollutants. This paper discusses a new pathway for the bacterial degradation of a sulfur-containing aromatic compound. The possibility of an alternative genetic control method for this process is demonstrated using Gordonia alkanivorans strain 135. Experimental studies based on physiological, transcriptomic, and proteomic analyses have enabled the authors to identify a set of genes involved in the degradation of dibenzothiophene.

Dibenzothiophene (DBT) is a widespread environmental pollutant. The most common metabolic pathway for DBT degradation by Gordonia strains is the 4S pathway, which is under the control of the dsz operon. The ability to utilize DBT as the sole source of sulfur in Gordonia alkanivorans strain 135 has been revealed. The dsz operon was not detected in the genome of strain 135. In this work, using genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data of strain 135, it was shown that an alternative pathway of DBT transformation is possible in non-dsz Gordonia; the sfnB and tauD genes and two acyl-dehydrogenase genes are significantly involved in the desulfurization process.