Functional and molecular characterization of a lipopeptide surfactant from the marine sponge-associated eubacteria bacillus licheniformis NIOT-AMKV06 of Andaman and Nicobar islands, India
Functional and molecular characterization of a lipopeptide surfactant from the marine sponge-associated eubacteria bacillus licheniformis NIOT-AMKV06 of Andaman and Nicobar islands, India
Date
2014
Authors
Lawrance, A.
Balakrishnan, M.
Joseph, T.C.
Sukumaran, D.P.
Valsalan, V.N.
Gopal, D.
Ramalingam, K.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier
Abstract
The production of a lipopeptide surfactant from the sponge-associated eubacteria Bacillus licheniformis
NIOT-AMKV06 from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands was investigated. The highest production was
attained with glucose and yeast extracts as the carbon and nitrogen sources (1.789 mg mL-1), respectively.
The surfactant was highly stable over a pH range of 5.0–10 and a temperature range of
20–70 0C with high NaCl concentrations. Excellent emulsification activity was exhibited by the purified
surfactant with crude oil, kerosene, and diesel. A two-fold increase in surfactant production
(3.0 mg mL-1) was observed using the newly formulated medium in this study. The surfactant biosynthesis
gene cluster (sfp, sfpO, and srfA) from B. licheniformis NIOT-AMKV06 was heterologously expressed in
Escherichia coli, and the production was increased three-fold (11.78 gL-1) over the original strain. The
results confirm the potential of the surfactant for use in bioremediation of hydrocarbons in a marine
environment and for enhanced oil recovery. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the ability of
a hydrocarbon degrading B. licheniformis from marine sponges for the biosynthesis of a potent lipopeptide
surfactant possessing characteristics of maximum stability, outstanding surfactant activity, and exceptional
emulsifying capability.
Description
Keywords
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Marine sponge, Bacillus licheniformis, Surfactant, Surfactant biosynthesis genes
Citation
Marine Pollut. Bull. 82:76-85