ISSN: 0973-7510

E-ISSN: 2581-690X

Morteza Khani1 , Anis Radbeh2, Hamed Nikzad3, Zinat Mohammadi4 and Mohammad Zolfaghari3
1Young Researchers and Elite Club, Shiraz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran.
2Department of Biology, Shiraz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Fars, Iran.
3Department of Biology, Jahrom Branch, Islamic Azad University, Jahrom, Fars, Iran.
4PhD Student, Plant Physiology, Islamic Azad University, Eslamshahr, Eslamshahr, Iran.
J. Pure Appl. Microbiol., 2016, 10 (2): 1021-1025
© The Author(s). 2016
Received: 13/01/2016 | Accepted: 19/04/2016 | Published: 30/06/2016
Abstract

Biosurfactants are in the category of surface active molecules (or surfactants), but have a different structure and are produced by microorganisms. These molecules reduce the surface and interfacial tension in the environments of liquid and mixed with hydrocarbons that have a potential properties in biological therapy. They caused the increased solubility and removal of hydrophobic contaminants and this leads to many applications in biodegradation of these materials as well as oil recovery and the process of de-emulsification. The produced surfactants by microorganisms are preferred compared to the chemical surfactants because of biodegradation, low toxicity, very high efficacy of heat, acidity and salinity. Biosurfactants have antimicrobial, antifungal and antiviral effects as well. So, Biosurfactants can be used to combat diseases caused by pathogens (including bacteria and fungi). General use and popularization of the use of these materials depend on the better understanding and abundant production of these materials on an industrial scale. Therefore, the present study was conducted aimed to isolate, identify and evaluate the activities of the bacteria producing biosurfactants from the waters of Persian Gulf coasts. First, water and sediment sampling was done from three stations in Bandar Abbas coasts. Then, the biosurfactants-producing bacteria were isolated through biochemical and phenotypic tests. Biosurfactants were isolated and surface tension and the effect of environmental conditions was tested on their activities. The results of study showed that the isolated bacterium is Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This isolate reduces the surface tension from 71.1 mN/m to 21.38 mN/m. it was found that the biosurfactants are produced by this bacteria, thus this bacteria can be used to produce biosurfactants aims to help the scientific and practical improvement of industries in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Keywords

Biosurfactant, Surface tension, Bandar Abbas.

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© The Author(s) 2016. Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License which permits unrestricted use, sharing, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.