title: Screening of biosurfactant producers from petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated sources in cold marine environments.
abstract: An overview of literature about isolating biosurfactant producers from marine sources indicated no such producers have been reported form North Atlantic Canada. Water and sediment samples were taken from petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated coastal and offshore areas in this region. Either n-hexadecane or diesel was used as the sole carbon source for the screening. A modified colony-based oil drop collapsing test was used to cover sessile biosurfactant producers. Fifty-five biosurfactant producers belong to genera of Alcanivorax, Exiguobacterium, Halomonas, Rhodococcus, Bacillus, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, and Streptomyces were isolated. The first three genera were established after 1980s with interesting characteristics and limited relevant publications. Some of the 55 isolated strains were found with properties such as greatly reducing surface tension, stabilizing emulsion and producing flocculant. Isolates P6-4P and P1-5P were selected to demonstrate the performance of biosurfactant production, and were found to reduce the surface tension of water to as low as 28 dynes/cm.
authors.affiliation: The Northern Region Persistent Organic Pollution Control (NRPOP) Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland A1B 3X5, Canada.
authors.forename: Qinhong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: The Northern Region Persistent Organic Pollution Control (NRPOP) Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland A1B 3X5, Canada. Electronic address: bzhang@mun.ca.
authors.forename: Baiyu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: The Northern Region Persistent Organic Pollution Control (NRPOP) Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland A1B 3X5, Canada.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: The Northern Region Persistent Organic Pollution Control (NRPOP) Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland A1B 3X5, Canada.
authors.forename: Zhiwen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: The Northern Region Persistent Organic Pollution Control (NRPOP) Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland A1B 3X5, Canada.
authors.forename: Weiyun
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: The Northern Region Persistent Organic Pollution Control (NRPOP) Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland A1B 3X5, Canada.
authors.forename: Tong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cao
mesh_terms: D000473:Alkanes; D001267:Atlantic Ocean; D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D002170:Canada; D003080:Cold Temperature; D005742:Gasoline; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000382:microbiology*; D010578:Petroleum / Q000382:microbiology*; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000473:Alkanes; D005742:Gasoline; D010578:Petroleum; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; C007932:n-hexadecane
keywords: Biosurfactant producers; Coastal and offshore; North Atlantic Canada; Petroleum hydrocarbon contamination; Screening