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Production and structural elucidation of trehalose tetraesters (biosurfactants) from a novel alkanothrophic Rhodococcus wratislaviensis strain
Author(s) -
Tuleva B.,
Christova N.,
Cohen R.,
Stoev G.,
Stoineva I.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 1364-5072
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2672.2007.03680.x
Subject(s) - trehalose , glycolipid , rhodococcus , strain (injury) , chemistry , bioremediation , bacteria , chromatography , pulmonary surfactant , biotransformation , hexadecane , organic chemistry , biochemistry , biology , enzyme , genetics , anatomy
Aims: To isolate a biosurfactant‐producing bacterial strain and to identify and characterize the chemical structure and properties of its biosurfactants. Methods and Results: The bacterium Rhodococcus wratislaviensis BN38, isolated from soil, was found to produce glycolipid biosurfactants when grown on 2% n ‐hexadecane. The glycolipids were isolated by chromatography on silica gel columns and their structures elucidated using a combination of multidimensional NMR and ESI‐MS/MS techniques. The main product was identified as 2,3,4,2′‐trehalose tetraester with molecular mass of 876 g mol −1 . It was also noted that the biosurfactant was produced under nitrogen‐limiting conditions and could not be synthesized from water‐soluble substrates. The purified product showed extremely high surface‐active properties. Conclusions: The glycolipid biosurfactant produced by the alkanothrophic strain R. wratislaviensis BN38 was characterized to be 2,3,4,2′‐trehalose tetraester which exhibited high surfactant activities. Significance and Impact of the Study: Strain BN38 of R. wratislaviensis is a potential candidate for use in bioremediation applications or in biosurfactant exploration.