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Effect of surfactants on fluoranthene degradation by Pseudomonas alcaligenes PA-10

  • Applied Microbial and Cell Physiology
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Abstract

Two surfactants, Tween 80 and JBR, were investigated for their effect on fluoranthene degradation by a Pseudomonad. Both surfactants enhanced fluoranthene degradation by Pseudomonas alcaligenes PA-10 in shake flask culture. This bacterium was capable of utilising the synthetic surfactant and the biosurfactant as growth substrates and the critical micelle concentration of neither compound inhibited bacterial growth. The biosurfactant JBR significantly increased polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) desorption from soil. Inoculation of fluoranthene-contaminated soil microcosms with P. alcaligenes PA-10 resulted in the removal of significant amounts (45 ± 5%) of the PAH after 28 days compared to an uninoculated control. Addition of the biosurfactant increased the initial rate of fluoranthene degradation in the inoculated microcosm. The presence of a lower molecular weight PAH, phenanthrene, had a similar effect on the rate of fluoranthene removal.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by contributory scholarships from Enterprise Ireland and the Environmental Protection Agency under the Environmental Research Technological Development and Innovation (ERTDI) programme 2000–2006. We wish to thank Jeneil Biosurfactant Company for supplying JBR, the biosurfactant used in these analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Republic of Ireland

    Anne Marie Hickey, Catherine T. Kelly & Evelyn M. Doyle

  2. Department of Microbiology, National University of Ireland, University College Cork, Cork, Republic of Ireland

    Linda Gordon & Alan D. W. Dobson

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  1. Anne Marie Hickey
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  2. Linda Gordon
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  3. Alan D. W. Dobson
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  4. Catherine T. Kelly
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  5. Evelyn M. Doyle
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Correspondence to Evelyn M. Doyle.

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Hickey, A.M., Gordon, L., Dobson, A.D.W. et al. Effect of surfactants on fluoranthene degradation by Pseudomonas alcaligenes PA-10. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 74, 851–856 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-006-0719-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-006-0719-5

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