Biodesulfurization Induces Reprogramming of Sulfur Metabolism in Rhodococcus qingshengii IGTS8: Proteomics and Untargeted Metabolomics
Aurélie Hirschler, Christine Carapito, Loïc Maurer, Julie Zumsteg, Claire Villette, Dimitri Heintz, Christiane Dahl, Ashraf Al-Nayal, Vartul Sangal, Huda Mahmoud, Alain Van Dorsselaer, Wael Ismail
Abstract
For many decades, research on biodesulfurization of fossil fuels was conducted amid a large gap in knowledge of sulfur metabolism and its regulation in fuel-biodesulfurizing bacteria, which has impeded the development of a commercially viable bioprocess. In addition, lack of understanding of biodesulfurization-associated metabolic and physiological adaptations prohibited the development of efficient biodesulfurizers. Our integrated omics-based findings reveal the assimilatory sulfur metabolism in the biodesulfurization reference strain Rhodococcus qingshengii IGTS8 and show how sulfur metabolism and oxidative stress response were remodeled and orchestrated to shape the biodesulfurization phenotype. Our findings not only explain the frequently encountered low catalytic activity of native fuel-biodesulfurizing bacteria but also uncover unprecedented potential targets in sulfur metabolism that could be exploited via metabolic engineering to boost the biodesulfurization catalytic activity, a prerequisite for commercial application.