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Enhanced biodegradation of phenanthrene by a marine bacterium in presence of a synthetic surfactant
Author(s) -
Cuny P.,
Faucet J.,
Acquaviva M.,
Bertrand J. C.,
Gilewicz M.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
letters in applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.698
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1472-765X
pISSN - 0266-8254
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2672.1999.00623.x
Subject(s) - art
The biodegradation of phenanthrene by the marine strain Sphingomonas sp. 2MPII (DSMZ 11572) was enhanced by the solubilizating properties of the nonionic surfactant Tween 80. After 197 h of incubation, 85 ± 4% of the initial amount of phenanthrene (0.4 g l −1 ) was biodegraded in presence of Tween 80 (0.5 g l −1 ) as opposed to 52 ± 5% without this synthetic surfactant. These results confirm that the activity of the strain 2MPII is limited by the bioavailability of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) substrate in the aqueous phase. Tween 80 appears to be efficient in increasing the bioavailability of hydrophobic compounds such as PAHs.