Isolation of surfactant-resistant bacteria from natural, surfactant-rich marine habitats.

ABSTRACT: Environmental remediation efforts often utilize either biodegradative microbes or surfactants, but not in combination. Coupling both strategies holds the potential to dramatically increase the rate and extent of remediation because surfactants can enhance the bioavailability of contaminants to microbes. However, many surfactants permeabilize bacterial cell membranes and are effective disinfectants. An important goal then is to find or genetically modify microorganisms that possess both desirable degradative capabilities and the ability to thrive in the presence of surfactants. The guts of some marine invertebrates, particularly deposit feeders, have previously been shown to contain high levels of biosurfactants. Our primary aim was to mine these natural, surfactant-rich habitats for surfac

SUBMITTER: Plante CJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2519273 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature