ABSTRACT
The principle of microbial infallibility states that there exist no naturally occurring organic compound that is not degraded by some microorganism under suitable conditions. The principle of microbial infallibility states that "no naturally occurring organic compound exists which is not degradable by some microorganism". Another provision of the principle of microbial infallibility is that organic molecules function as heterotrophic substrates under "suitable" conditions. Dibenzothiophene is often used as a model compound for the thiophenic entities in coal. At the same time, it should be noted that there is negligible, if any, dibenzothiophene per se in coal. For dibenzothiophene to be transformed by a microorganism, the microorganism must encounter the molecule. The abundance of organic sulfur in coal is greater than the abundance of sulfur in extant biomass.
