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Distribution and diversity of biosurfactant-producing bacteria in a wastewater treatment plant

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Abstract

The distribution and diversity of culturable biosurfactant-producing bacteria were investigated in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) using the Shannon and Simpson’s indices. Twenty wastewater samples were analysed, and from 667 isolates obtained, 32 were classified as biosurfactant producers as they reduced the surface tension of the culture medium (71.1 mN/m), with the lowest value of 32.1 mN/m observed. Certain isolates also formed stable emulsions with diesel, kerosene and mineral oils. The 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) analysis classified the biosurfactant producers into the Aeromonadaceae, Bacillaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, Gordoniaceae and the Pseudomonadaceae families. In addition, numerous isolates carried the surfactin 4′-phosphopantetheinyl transferase (sfp), rhamnosyltransferase subunit B (rhlB) and bacillomycin C (bamC) genes involved in the biosynthesis of surfactin, rhamnolipid and bacillomycin, respectively. While, biosurfactant-producing bacteria were found at all sampling points in the WWTP, the Simpson’s diversity (1 − D) and the Shannon-Weaver (H) indices revealed an increase in bacterial diversity in the influent samples (0.8356 and 2.08), followed by the effluent (0.8 and 1.6094) and then the biological trickling filter (0.7901 and 1.6770) samples. Numerous biosurfactant-producing bacteria belonging to diverse genera are thus present throughout a WWTP.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the National Research Foundation (Grant number: 90320) for financial support. The authors also wish to thank Mr Vivian Kloppers and the staff members at Stellenbosch municipal wastewater treatment plant for their assistance in the collection of wastewater samples. The Department of Chemistry at Stellenbosch University and Mrs Peta Steyn are thanked for the use of the Du Nouy tensiometer.

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  1. Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Stellenbosch, 7602, South Africa

    Thando Ndlovu & Wesaal. Khan

  2. Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, PO Box 1906, Bellville, 7535, South Africa

    Sehaam Khan

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  1. Thando Ndlovu
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Correspondence to Wesaal. Khan.

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Ndlovu, T., Khan, S. & Khan, W. Distribution and diversity of biosurfactant-producing bacteria in a wastewater treatment plant. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 9993–10004 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6249-5

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