Biosurfactant production by antarctic facultative anaerobe Pantoea sp. during growth on hydrocarbons.
The facultative anaerobe Pantoea sp. strain A-13, isolated from ornithogenic soil of Dewart Island (Frazier Islands), Antarctica, produced glycolipid biosurfactants when grown on n-paraffins or kerosene as the sole source of carbon and energy. Hemolysis of erythrocytes, growth inhibition of Bacillus subtilis, and thin-layer chromatography studies have suggested that the secreted glycolipids are rhamnolipids. Glycolipids produced by kerosene-grown cells decreased the surface tension at the air-water interface to 30 mN/m and possessed a low critical micelle concentration value of 40 mg/l, which indicated high surface activity. They efficiently emulsified aromatic hydrocarbons, kerosene, and n-paraffins. Biosurfactant production contributed to an increase in cell hydrophobicity, which correlated with increased growth of the strain on tested hydrocarbons. According to the results, the Antarctic biosurfactant-producing strain Pantoea sp. A-13 appears to be valuable source for application in accelerated environmental bioremediation.
Vasileva-Tonkova
Evgenia
E
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, The Stephan Angeloff Institute of Microbiology, Sofia, Bulgaria. evaston@yahoo.com
Gesheva
Victoria
V
D000693:Anaerobiosis; D000864:Antarctic Regions; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods; D003470:Culture Media; D006017:Glycolipids / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000378:metabolism*; D020636:Pantoea / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000378:metabolism*
D003470:Culture Media; D006017:Glycolipids; D006838:Hydrocarbons; D013501:Surface-Active Agents