Studies on Bacillus stearothermophilus

The impact of chemical enhancers on the biotransformation of testosterone has been exploited. Application of crude cell concentrates to produce Bacillus stearothermophilus-mediated bioconversion of testosterone at 65 °C for 72 h has been examined. After incubation, the xenobiotic substrate was added to the concentrated whole cell suspensions. The enhancer molecules were included in the whole cell suspension. The resultant products, after extraction into an organic solvent, were purified by thin layer chromatography and identification was carried out through spectroscopic data. Five steroid metabolites 9,10-seco-4-androstene-3,9,17-trione, 5α-androstan-3,6,17-trione, 17β-hydroxy-5α-androstan-3,6-dione, 3β,17β-dihydroxyandrost-4-ene-6-one and 17β-hydroxyandrost-4,6-diene-3-one were identified as biotransformation products of testosterone. A possible biosynthetic route for these bioconversion products is postulated.