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Expression of Vitreoscilla hemoglobin in Gordonia amarae enhances biosurfactant production

  • Original Paper
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Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology

Abstract

The gene (vgb) encoding Vitreoscilla (bacterial) hemoglobin (VHb) was electroporated into Gordonia amarae, where it was stably maintained, and expressed at about 4 nmol VHb g−1 of cells. The maximum cell mass (OD600) of vgb-bearing G. amarae was greater than that of untransformed G. amarae for a variety of media and aeration conditions (2.8-fold under normal aeration and 3.4-fold under limited aeration in rich medium, and 3.5-fold under normal aeration and 3.2-fold under limited aeration in mineral salts medium). The maximum level of trehalose lipid from cultures grown in rich medium plus hexadecane was also increased for the recombinant strain, by 4.0-fold in broth and 1.8-fold in cells under normal aeration and 2.1-fold in broth and 1.4-fold in cells under limited aeration. Maximum overall biosurfactant production was also increased in the engineered strain, by 1.4-fold and 2.4-fold for limited and normal aeration, respectively. The engineered strain may be an improved source for producing purified biosurfactant or an aid to microorganisms bioremediating sparingly soluble contaminants in situ.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by NSF grant number MCB-9910356. We thank Dr. John Kilbane for helpful discussions, Dr. Kevin Kayser for help with electroporation, and Dr. Sangeeta Patel for help with the Gram staining.

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Author notes

  1. Ilhan Dogan

    Present address: Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Izmir Institute of Technology, Izmir, Turkey

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biology Division, Department of Biological, Chemical, and Physical Sciences, Illinois Institute of Technology, IIT Center, Chicago, IL, 60616, USA

    Ilhan Dogan, Dale A. Webster & Benjamin C. Stark

  2. Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, 60616, USA

    Krishna R. Pagilla

Authors
  1. Ilhan Dogan
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  2. Krishna R. Pagilla
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  3. Dale A. Webster
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  4. Benjamin C. Stark
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Correspondence to Benjamin C. Stark.

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Dogan, I., Pagilla, K.R., Webster, D.A. et al. Expression of Vitreoscilla hemoglobin in Gordonia amarae enhances biosurfactant production. J IND MICROBIOL BIOTECHNOL 33, 693–700 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10295-006-0097-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10295-006-0097-0

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