Abstract
Pseudomonas maltophilia CSV89, a soil bacterium, produces an extracellular biosurfactant, “Biosur-Pm”. The partially purified product is nondialyzable and chemically composed of 50% protein and 12–15% sugar, which indicates the complex nature of Biosur-Pm. It reduces the surface tension of water from 73 to 53×10-3 N m-1 and has a critical micellar concentration of 80 mg/l. Compared to aliphatic hydrocarbons, Biosur-Pm shows good activity against aromatic hydrocarbons. The emulsion formed is stable and does not require any metal ions for emulsification. The kinetics of Biosur-Pm production suggest that its synthesis is a growth-associated and pH-dependent process. At pH 7.0, cells produced more Biosur-Pm with less cell surface hydrophobicity. At pH 8.0, however, the cells produced less Biosur-Pm with more cell surface hydrophobicity and showed a twofold higher affinity for aromatic hydrocarbons compared to the cells grown at pH 7.0. The Biosur-Pm showed a pH-dependent release, stimulated growth of the producer strain on mineral salts medium with 1-naphthoic acid when added externally, and facilitated the conversion of salicylate to catechol. All these results suggest that Biosur-Pm is probably a cell-wall component and helps in hydrocarbon assimilation/uptake.
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Phale, P.S., Savithri, H.S., Rao, N.A. et al. Production of biosurfactant “Biosur-Pm” by Pseudomonas maltophila CSV89: characterization and role in hydrocarbon uptake. Arch. Microbiol. 163, 424–431 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00272131
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00272131