Potential applications of surface active compounds by Gordonia sp. strain BS29 in soil remediation technologies.

A wide range of structurally different surface active compounds (SACs) is synthesised by many prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms. Due to their properties, microbial SACs have been exploited in environmental remediation techniques. From a diesel-contaminated soil, we isolated the Gordonia sp. strain BS29 which extensively grows on aliphatic hydrocarbons and produces two different types of SACs: extracellular bioemulsans and cell-bound biosurfactants. The aim of this work was to evaluate the potential applications of the strain BS29 and its SACs in the following environmental technologies: bioremediation of soils contaminated by aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, and washing of soils contaminated by crude oil, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals. Microcosm bioremediation experiments were carried out with soils contaminated by aliphatic hydrocarbons or PAHs, while batch soil washing experiments were carried out with soils contaminated by crude oil, PAHs or heavy metals. Bioremediation results showed that the BS29 bioemulsans are able to slightly enhance the biodegradation of recalcitrant branched hydrocarbons. On the other hand, we obtained the best results in soil washing of hydrocarbons. The BS29 bioemulsans effectively remove crude oil and PAHs from soil. Particularly, crude oil removal by BS29 bioemulsans is comparable to the rhamnolipid one in the same experimental conditions showing that the BS29 bioemulsans are promising washing agents for remediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated soils.

Surface-active compounds and their role in the access to hydrocarbons in Gordonia strains.

Three new bacterial strains (M22, BS25 and BS29) belonging to the Gordonia genus were isolated from a site chronically contaminated by diesel. Those Gordonia strains were able to grow using a wide range of straight and branched aliphatic hydrocarbons as carbon and energy sources and to produce at least two classes of surface-active compounds. Emulsifying agents were released in the culture medium when bacteria grew both on hydrocarbons and water-soluble substrates. Cell-bound biosurfactants, which reduce the surface tension, were produced on hydrocarbons; however, their production was significantly lower on water soluble substrates. The relationship of growth phase, surface-active compound production and cell-surface properties was analyzed in kinetic experiments on hydrocarbons. Gordonia sp. BS29 synthesized, and released extracellularly, bioemulsans during the exponential phase with n-hexadecane as carbon and energy source. The production of biosurfactants started in the exponential phase and their concentration increased during the following linear growth. Furthermore, the adhesion of bacterial cells to hydrocarbons decreased during growth. Our results led us to hypothesize a change in the mode by which Gordonia cells access the substrate during growth on hydrocarbons.