Abstract
The roles of the extracellular biosurfactants produced by two bacterial strains, Pseudomonas aeruginosa GL1 and Rhodococcus equi Ou2, in hexadecane uptake and biodegradation were compared. For this purpose, cell hydrophobicity and production of glycolipidic biosurfactants were evaluated during bacterial growth on hexadecane, as well the effects of these biosurfactants on culture supernatants properties i.e., surface and interfacial tensions, and emulsification and pseudosolubilization capacities. The results showed that the role of biosurfactants was different in these two strains and was directly related to the hydrophobicity of the bacterial cells concerned. Extracellular biosurfactants produced by strain R. equi Ou2 had only a minor role in hexadecane degradation. Direct interfacial accession appeared to be the main mechanism for hexadecane uptake by the hydrophobic cells of strain R. equi Ou2. On the contrary, the biosurfactants produced by P. aeruginosa GL1 were required for growth on hexadecane, and their pseudosolubilization capacity rather than their emulsification capacity was involved in substrate degradation, allowing uptake from hexadecane micelles by the hydrophilic cells of this bacterium. The roles of biosurfactants thus differ widely among bacteria degrading hydrophobic compounds.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Hazem Bouzrara and Maria Autran for their collaboration in the experimental work. They also thank Daniel Ballerini for having access to the tensiometer equipment at Institut Français du Pétrole (Rueil Malmaison, France).
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J.-P. Vandecasteele—in retirement
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Bouchez-Naïtali, M., Vandecasteele, JP. Biosurfactants, an help in the biodegradation of hexadecane? The case of Rhodococcus and Pseudomonas strains. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 24, 1901–1907 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-008-9691-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-008-9691-9