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Biodegradation and surfactant-mediated biodegradation of diesel fuel by 218 microbial consortia are not correlated to cell surface hydrophobicity

  • Applied Microbial and Cell Physiology
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Abstract

In this study, we elucidated the role of cell surface hydrophobicity (microbial adhesion to hydrocarbons method, MATH) and the effect of anionic rhamnolipids and nonionic Triton X-100 surfactants on biodegradation of diesel fuel employing 218 microbial consortia isolated from petroleum-contaminated soils. Applied enrichment procedure with floating diesel fuel as a sole carbon source in liquid cultures resulted in consortia of varying biodegradation potential and diametrically different cell surface properties, suggesting that cell surface hydrophobicity is a conserved parameter. Surprisingly, no correlations between cell surface hydrophobicity and biodegradation of diesel fuel were found. Nevertheless, both surfactants altered cell surface hydrophobicity of the consortia in similar manner: increased for the hydrophilic and decreased for the hydrophobic cultures. In addition to this, the surfactants exhibited similar influence on diesel fuel biodegradation: Increase was observed for initially slow-degrading cultures and the opposite for fast degraders. This indicates that in the surfactant-mediated biodegradation, effectiveness of surfactants depends on the specification of microorganisms and not on the type of surfactant. In contrary to what was previously reported for pure strains, cell surface hydrophobicity, as determined by MATH, is not a good descriptor of biodegrading potential for mixed cultures.

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Acknowledgments

Isolation, identification of microorganisms, and hydrophobicity studies were performed in the framework of the Grant No. N N305 035434 Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, years 2008–2010. We are thankful to Arnaud Dechesne for the comments on an earlier version of the manuscript.

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  1. Mikołaj Owsianiak

    Present address: Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Chemical Technology and Engineering, Poznan University of Technology, Pl. M. Skłodowskiej-Curie 2, 60-965, Poznań, Poland

    Mikołaj Owsianiak, Alicja Szulc, Łukasz Chrzanowski & Mariusz Bogacki

  2. Department of Biotechnology and Food Microbiology, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 48, 60-627, Poznań, Poland

    Paweł Cyplik & Agnieszka K. Olejnik-Schmidt

  3. Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research—UFZ, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany

    Hermann J. Heipieper

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  1. Mikołaj Owsianiak
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Correspondence to Łukasz Chrzanowski.

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Owsianiak, M., Szulc, A., Chrzanowski, Ł. et al. Biodegradation and surfactant-mediated biodegradation of diesel fuel by 218 microbial consortia are not correlated to cell surface hydrophobicity. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 84, 545–553 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-009-2040-6

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