Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

, Volume 88, Issue 4, pp 953–963 | Cite as

Cadmium effects on transcriptional expression of rhlB/rhlC genes and congener distribution of monorhamnolipid and dirhamnolipid in Pseudomonas aeruginosa IGB83

  • Julia W. Neilson
  • Lin Zhang
  • Tracey A. Veres-Schalnat
  • Kevin B. Chandler
  • Charlotte H. Neilson
  • Jennifer D. Crispin
  • Jeanne E. Pemberton
  • Raina M. Maier
Applied Microbial and Cell Physiology
First Online:
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:

Abstract

While variable production of the biosurfactant, rhamnolipid, by Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been shown to be dependent on growth conditions, no research has evaluated potential relationships between rhamnolipid production and the presence of heavy metals. The current investigation evaluates the influence of Cd2+ on rhamnolipid synthesis. Cultures grown in the presence of 0.45 and 0.89 mM Cd2+ were monitored for rhlB/rhlC expression, rhamnolipid yield, and the ratio of monorhamnolipid (RL1) and dirhamnolipid (RL2) produced. Results show a Cd-induced enhancement of rhlB expression in mid-stationary phase (53 h). In addition, sustained production of rhamnolipid through late stationary growth phase (96 h) was observed for Cd-amended cultures, unlike Cd-free control cultures that ceased rhamnolipid production by mid-stationary growth phase. Most significant was an observed increase in the ratio of RL2 to RL1 congeners produced by cultures grown in the presence of Cd2+. Previous results have shown that the complexation constant for RL2–Cd is several orders of magnitude larger than that of RL1–Cd thus the preferential production of RL2 in the presence of Cd2+ impacts its bioavailability and toxicity both for the cell and in the surrounding environment.

Keywords

Rhamnolipid congeners Biosurfactant Cadmium rhlB expression rhlC expression Pseudomonas aeruginosa 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Grant CHE 071-4245 from the US National Science Foundation Collaborative Research in Chemistry program.

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag 2010

Authors and Affiliations

  • Julia W. Neilson
    • 1
  • Lin Zhang
    • 1
  • Tracey A. Veres-Schalnat
    • 2
  • Kevin B. Chandler
    • 1
  • Charlotte H. Neilson
    • 1
  • Jennifer D. Crispin
    • 1
  • Jeanne E. Pemberton
    • 2
  • Raina M. Maier
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of Soil, Water, and Environmental ScienceUniversity of ArizonaTucsonUSA
  2. 2.Department of Chemistry and BiochemistryUniversity of Arizona,1306 E. University BoulevardTucsonUSA

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