Enhanced Oil Recovery using a Combination of Biosurfactants.

Biosurfactants are surface-active compounds capable of reducing the surface tension between two phases of different polarities. Biosurfactants have been emerging as promising alternatives to chemical surfactants due to less toxicity, high biodegradability, environmental compatibility and tolerance to extreme environmental conditions. Here, we illustrate the methods used for screening of microbes capable of producing biosurfactants. The biosurfactant producing microbes were identified using drop collapse, oil spreading, and emulsion index assays. Biosurfactant production was validated by determining the reduction in surface tension of the media due to growth of the microbial members. We also describe the methods involved in characterization and identification of biosurfactants. Thin layer chromatography of the extracted biosurfactant followed by differential staining of the plates was performed to determine the nature of the biosurfactant. LCMS, 1H NMR, and FT-IR were used to chemically identify the biosurfactant. We further illustrate the methods to evaluate the application of the combination of produced biosurfactants for enhancing residual oil recovery in a simulated sand pack column.

Microarray profiling and identification of core promoter sequence in Gordonia.

Gordonia are Gram-positive bacteria which have immense biotechnological potential. Genomes of several Gordonia spp. have been sequenced but a detailed analysis of the differentially expressed genes during growth, the promoters which drive their expression and the information on the core promoter sequence is lacking. Here, we report the identification of core promoter sequence in Gordonia sp. IITR100. The GC content of the promoters was found to be within a range of 62-65%. The 5'-UTR length in the genes was also analysed and about 56% promoters were found to have long 5'-UTR. The functionality of the promoters was validated by microarray profiling. Based on the differential expression of genes, two growth phase dependent promoters PdsbA and Pglx were isolated and analysed. They add to the existing repertoire of the promoters functional in both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Our results suggest that the core promoter sequence identified is conserved in members of Gordonia spp. and is similar to that of other members of Actinobacteria.