Trends in Biotechnology
Potential applications of microbial surfactants in biomedical sciences
Section snippets
Iturin group of biosurfactants
One of the earliest noted antimicrobial activities of biosurfactants was that of iturin A, a potent antifungal lipopeptide produced by strains of Bacillus subtilis [9]. In yeast cells, iturin A disrupts the plasma membrane by the formation of small vesicles and the aggregation of intramembranous particles. It also releases electrolytes and high molecular mass products, and degrades phospholipids [10]. Iturin A dramatically increases the electrical conductance of biomolecular lipid membranes,
Surfactin group of biosurfactants
Surfactin, a cyclic lipopeptide produced by B. subtilis strains, is one of the other biosurfactants with well-known antimicrobial properties. There are three different types of surfactins, A, B and C, which are classified according to the differences in their amino acid sequences. Surfactin-A has l-leucine, surfactin-B has l-valine and surfactin-C has l-isoleucine at the amino acid position involved in lactone ring formation with the C14–C15 β-hydroxy fatty acid. Apart from antifungal and
Mannosylerythritol lipids
Members of the Candida antarctica strain produce two kinds of mannosylerythritol lipids (MEL-A and MEL-B) that exhibit antimicrobial activity, particularly against Gram-positive bacteria [22]. MEL-A is one of the most useful biosurfactants examined to date. Isoda et al. [23] investigated the biological activities of seven biosurfactants (MEL-A, MEL-B, polyol lipid, rhamnolipid, sophorose lipid and the succinoyl trehalose lipids STL1 and STL3). All glycolipids, except for rhamnolipid, induce
Other biosurfactants with biological activity
A complex of acylpeptide antibiotics, pumilacidin A, B, C, D, E, F and G was isolated from strains of Bacillus pumilis [27]. Pumilacidin exhibited antiviral activity against HSV-1, inhibitory activity against H+, K+-ATPase, and was found to be protective against gastric ulcers. A new antibiotic from Pseudomonas fluorescens, with biosurfactant properties different from those of the known biosurfactant viscosin from the same species, was later identified and named viscosinamide, which was also
Biosurfactants as anti-adhesives
Swarming motility and biofilm formation are the key actions in the colonization of a surface by bacteria, and increase the likelihood of nosocomial infections. Biosurfactants have been found to inhibit the adhesion of pathogenic organisms to solid surfaces or to infection sites. Surfactin decreases the amount of biofilm formed by Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli and Proteus mirabilis in polyvinyl chloride wells, as well as in vinyl urethral catheters [31].
Other biomedical and therapeutic applications
To generate conventional or monoclonal antibodies for the serological detection of drugs, antibodies, toxins and other low molecular mass substances, a suitable and effective adjuvant is needed. Mittenbuhler et al. [38] showed that bacterial lipopeptides constitute potent nontoxic and nonpyrogenic immunological adjuvants when mixed with conventional antigens. The synthetic lipopeptide N-palmitoyl-S-[2,3-bis(palmitoyloxy)-(2R,S)-propyl-]-(R)-cysteinyl-serine (P3CS) coupled to a Th-cell epitope
Concluding remarks
Biosurfactants have potent antimicrobial applications including antifungal, antibacterial, antimycoplasmal and antiviral activities. They have been used for gene transfection, as ligands for binding immunoglobulins, as adjuvants for antigens and also as inhibitors for fibrin clot formation and activators of fibrin clot lysis. Their ability to alter properties of molecules such as cAMP and PLA2 might lead to their use as modulators of signal transduction. Genetic alteration of biosurfactant
Acknowledgements
We thank the Director of the Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH) for providing facilities for our work (IMTECH communication number 033/2003). We are grateful for the assistance of Neena Mehta.
References (39)
- et al.
Biosurfactant and oil bioremediation
Curr. Opin. Biotechnol.
(2002) Effect of lipopeptide antibiotic, iturin A, on morphology and membrane ultrastructure of yeast cells
FEMS Microbiol. Lett.
(1995)Pore-forming properties of iturin A, a lipopeptide antibiotic
Biochim. Biophys. Acta
(1985)Suppression of inflammatory responses by surfactin, a selective inhibitor of platelet cytosolic phospholipase A2
Biochem. Pharmacol.
(1998)Mechanism of inactivation of enveloped viruses, by the biosurfactant surfactin from Bacillus subtilis
Biologicals
(1997)- et al.
Enhancement of plasminogen activation by surfactin C: augmentation of fibrinolysis in vitro and in vivo
Biochim. Biophys. Acta
(2002) Surface-active properties and antimicrobial activities of mannosylerythritol lipids as biosurfactants produced by Candida antarctica
J. Biotechnol.
(1993)Biosurfactants of MEL-A increase gene transfection mediated by cationic liposomes
Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun.
(2001)Purification and characterization of a surface-binding protein from Lactobacillus fermentum RC-14 that inhibits adhesion of Enterococcus faecalis 1131
FEMS Microbiol. Lett.
(2000)- et al.
Role played by Lactobacilli in controlling the population of vaginal pathogens
Microbes Infect.
(2000)
Drug specific antibodies: T-cell epitope-lipopeptide conjugates are potent adjuvants for small antigens in vivo and in vitro
Int. J. Immunopharmacol.
Immunonutrition: role of biosurfactants, fiber and probiotic bacteria
Nutrition
Synthesis of biosurfactants in extreme conditions
Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol.
An update on the use of unconventional substrates for biosurfactants production and their new applications
Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol.
Natural roles of biosurfactants
Environ. Microbiol.
Potential commercial applications of microbial surfactants
Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol.
Extracellular polysaccharides of Rhodococcus rhodochrous S-2 stimulate the degradation of components in crude oil by indigenous marine bacteria
Appl. Environ. Microbiol.
Biosurfactant enhanced bioremediation of PAH
CRC Crit. Rev. Environ. Sci. Technol.
Biodegradation of soil-applied endosulfan in the presence of a biosurfactant
J. Environ. Sci. Health
Cited by (495)
Aggregation phenomena and physico-chemical properties of tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide and protein (bovine serum albumin) mixture: Influence of electrolytes and temperature
2023, International Journal of Biological MacromoleculesMicrobial lipopeptides: Properties, mechanics and engineering for novel lipopeptides
2023, Microbiological Research