Abstract
The potential of biosurfactant PS to permeabilize bacterial cells of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Bacillus subtilis on growing (in vivo) and resting (in vitro) cells was studied. Biosurfactant was shown to have a neutral or detrimental effect on the growth of Gram-positive strains, and this was dependent on the surfactant concentration. The growth of Gram-negative strains was not influenced by the presence of biosurfactant in the media. Cell permeabilization with biosurfactant PS was shown to be more effective with B. subtilis resting cells than with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Scanning-electron microscopy observations showed that the biosurfactant PS did not exert a disruptive action on resting cells such that it was detrimental to the effect on growing cells of B. subtilis. Low critical micelle concentrations, tender action on nongrowing cells, and neutral effects on the growth of microbial strains at low surfactant concentrations make biosurfactant PS a potential candidate for application in different industrial fields, in environmental bioremediation, and in biomedicine.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alexieva Z, Gerginova M, Zlateva P, Peneva N (2004) Comparison of growth kinetics and phenol metabolizing enzymes of Trichosporon cutaneum R57 and mutants with modified degradation abilities. Enzyme Microb Technol 34:242–247
Al-Tahhan RA, Sandrin TR, Bodour AA, Maier RM (2000) Rhamnolipid induced removal of lipopolysacharide from Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Effect on cell surface properties and interaction with hydrophobic substrates. Appl Environ Microbiol 66:3262–3268
Ayres HM, Payne DN, Furr JR, Russell AD (1998) Effect of permeabilizing agents on antibacterial activity against a simple Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm. Lett Appl Microbiol 27:79–82
Bansal-Mutalik R, Gaikar VG (2006) Reverse micellar solutions aided permeabilization of baker’s yeast. Process Biochem 41:133–245
Beal R, Betts WB (2000) Role of rhamnolipid biosurfactants in the uptake and mineralization of hexadecane in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. J Appl Microbiol 89:158–168
Benchekroun K, Bonaly R (1992) Physiological properties and plasma membrane composition of Saccharomyces cerevisiae grown in sequential batch culture and in the presence of surfactants. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 36:673–678
Cánovas M, Torroglosa T, Iborra JL (2005) Permeabilization of Escherichia coli cells in the biotransformation of trimethylammonium compounds into L-carnitine. Enzyme Microb Technol 37:300–308
Desai JD, Banat IM (1997) Microbial production of surfactants and their commercial potential. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 61:47–64
Duetz WA, van Beilen JB, Witholt B (2001) Using proteins in their natural environment: Potential and limitations of microbial whole-sell hydrosylations in applied biocatalysis. Curr Opin Biotechnol 12:419–425
Galabova D, Tuleva B, Spasova D (1996) Permeabilization of Yarrowia lipolytica cells by triton X-100. Enzyme Microb Technol 18:18–22
Karpenko EV, Shulga AN, Vildanova-Marzishin RI, Elyseev SA, Turovsky AA, Tshegliva NS (1996) Surface-active compounds of Pseudomonas sp.S-17 strain. Microbiol J (Ukraina) 52:78–82
Karpenko OV, Martynyuk NB, Shulga OM, Shcheglova NS et al (2004) Surface-active biopreparation. Patent of Ukraine 71792 A. Bulletin No. 12
King AT, Davey MR, Mellor IR, Mulligan BJ, Lowe KC (1991) Surfactant effects on yeast cells. Enzyme Microb Technol 13:148–153
Lang S, Wullbrandt D (1999) Rhamnose lipids-biosynthesis, microbial production and application potential. Apple Microbiol Biotechnol 51:22–32
León R, Fernandes P, Pinheiro HM, Cabral JMS (1998) Whole-cell biocatalysis in organic media. Enzyme Microb Technol 23:483–500
Nielsen L, Kadavy D, Rajagopal S, Drijber R, Kenneth W (2005) Survey of extreme solvent tolerance in gram-positive cocci: Membrane fatty acid changes in Staphylococcushaemolyticus grown in toluene. Appl Environ Microbiol 71:5171–5176
Lowry OH, Rosebrough NJ, Farr AL, Randall RJ (1951) Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. J Biol Chem 193:265–275
Mulligan CN (2005) Environmental applications for biosurfactants. Environ Pollut 133(2):183–198
Ramos JL, Duque E, Gallegos MT, Godoy P, Ramos-Gonzalez MI, Rojas A et al (2002) Mechanisms of solvent tolerance in gram-negative bacteria. Annu Rev Microbiol 56:743–768
Rosenberg E, Ron EZ (1999) High- and low-molecular-mass microbial surfactants. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 52:154–162
Sotirova A, Spasova D, Vasileva-Tonkova E, Galabova D (2007) Effects of rhamnolipid-biosurfactant on cell surface of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Microbiol Res. doi: 10.1016/j.micres.2007.01.005
Sotirova А, Spasova D, Vasileva-Tonkova, Stoyanova D, Galabova D (2006) Biological properties of biosurfactant complex from Pseudomonas sp. PS-17. Proceedings of the 11th Congress of the Bulgarian Microbiologists with International Participation. 5–7 October, 2006 Varna (in press)
Spizizen J (1958) Transformation of biochemically deficient strains of Bacillus subtilis by deoxiribonucleate. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 44:1072–1078
Weber FJ, de Bont JAM (1996) Adaptation mechanisms of microorganisms to the toxic effects of organic solvents on membranes. Biochim Biophys Acta 1286:225–245
Zhang Y, Miller RM (1992) Enhanced octadecane dispersion and biodegradation by a Pseudomonas rhamnolipid surfactant (biosurfactant). Appl Environ Microbiol 58:3276–3282
Zhang Y, Miller RM (1995) Effect of rhamnolipid (biosurfactant) structure on solubilization and biodegradation of n-alkanes. Appl Environ Microbiol 61:2247–2251
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by Grant No. K-1206/02 from the National Council of Scientific Research at the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science and Scientific and Technological Cooperation Joint Project for Years 2005 to 2007 between the Bulgarian and Ukrainian Ministries of Education and Science.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sotirova, A.V., Spasova, D.I., Galabova, D.N. et al. Rhamnolipid–Biosurfactant Permeabilizing Effects on Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacterial Strains. Curr Microbiol 56, 639–644 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-008-9139-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-008-9139-3