GIRISH PENDHARKAR, PRATIBHA PATIL, PREETIBALA SOLANKI AND TUSHAR BANERJEE
Abstract
Microbial??1-dehydrogenation of androst-4-ene-3,17-dione (androstenedione, AD) was carried out by highly efficient strain Delftia acidovorans MTCC 3364. This is the first report on use of D. acidovorans MTCC 3364 for bioconversion of AD. The work emphasizes on the screening of suitable organic solvent for biotransformation of AD to yield androsta-1,4-diene,3,17-dione (androstadienedione, ADD).Various alcohols and organic solvents were included in the study as carriers for the addition of AD in the incubation medium. As compared to control, the use of methylene chloride and 1,4 dioxane enhanced the current biotransformation by 130 % and 135 % respectively. Chloroform, ethanol and propanol neither affected biomass accumulation nor the ADD accumulation. n-Butanol drastically affected the process, showingreduced biomass accumulation as well as biotransformation. However, at higher concentration of organic solvents used, decreased yield of bioconversion has been observed as compared to yield obtained at optimum concentration.