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Effect of monorhamnolipid on the degradation of n-hexadecane by Candida tropicalis and the association with cell surface properties

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Abstract

The effect of monorhamnolipid (monoRL) on the degradation of n-hexadecane by Candida tropicalis was investigated in this study. The concentration of hexadecane, cell growth, cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH), cell surface zeta potential (CSZP), and FT-IR spectra of cellular envelope were tested to determine the mechanisms. MonoRL at the initial concentrations of 11.4, 19, and 38 mg/l improved the degradation of hexadecane, and 19 mg/l was the best concentration. However, 114 mg/l monoRL suppressed the biodegradation probably because of the reduced bioavailability of hexadecane caused by the micelles. The presence of monoRL changed the cell surface properties, which was demonstrated by the increased CSH, the increased CSZP, and the changed FT-IR spectra of cellular envelope at 680 and 620 cm−1. The changes of cell surface properties may be a reason for the enhanced biodegradation of hexadecane by the yeast. The results indicate the potential application of monoRL in the bioremediation of hydrocarbons.

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Acknowledgments

The study was financially supported by the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (IRT0719), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (50908081, 50978088, 51039001), the Hunan Key Scientific Research Project (2009FJ1010), the Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China(10JJ7005), the British Columbia Innovation Council (ICSD-2007-Li-J), the Xiamen Science & Technology Planning Project Fund (3502Z20093040), and the Hunan University Graduate Education Innovation Project (531107011019).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, People’s Republic of China

    Guangming Zeng, Zhifeng Liu, Hua Zhong, Xingzhong Yuan, Ying Ding, Jing Wang & Meifang Zhou

  2. Key Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Pollution Control, Ministry of Education, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, People’s Republic of China

    Guangming Zeng, Zhifeng Liu, Hua Zhong, Xingzhong Yuan, Ying Ding, Jing Wang & Meifang Zhou

  3. Environmental Science and Engineering Program, University of Northern British Columbia, 3333 University Way, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, V2N 4Z9

    Jianbing Li

  4. Department of Environmental Engineering, Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen, 361024, People’s Republic of China

    Haiyan Fu

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  1. Guangming Zeng
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  2. Zhifeng Liu
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Correspondence to Guangming Zeng.

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Zeng, G., Liu, Z., Zhong, H. et al. Effect of monorhamnolipid on the degradation of n-hexadecane by Candida tropicalis and the association with cell surface properties. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 90, 1155–1161 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-011-3125-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-011-3125-6

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