Advances in Microbial Surfactants: Production and Applications

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Microbial Biotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2024) | Viewed by 2365

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
São Carlos Institute of Chemistry (IQSC), University of São Paulo, Trabalhador São-Carlense Av., 400, P.O. Box 780, São Carlos 13560-970, SP, Brazil
Interests: biosurfactants; biofilms
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is a continuation of our 2022 Special Issue “Microbial Surfactants: Production and Applications”.

The increasing demand for a more sustainable society motivates the search for green and eco-friendly alternatives to chemical-derived compounds. Microbial surfactants are potential candidates to replace synthetics, especially due to their biological origin and production from renewable resources. In addition, the interesting properties demonstrated by biosurfactants are useful for a range of industrial applications, from environmental to pharmaceutical.  Due to their great metabolic versatility, bacteria are the most traditional surfactant producers; however, filamentous fungi, yeasts, algae, and extremophile bacteria and archaea are little exploited. In this Special Issue, you are invited to submit original articles focusing on (but not limited to) the following research topics: the characterization of surfactants synthesized by novel strains, the production of biosurfactants from alternative substrates emphasizing circular bioeconomy, and  the biological activity and applications of microbial surfactants in the health, agriculture, food, environmental, and nanotechnology fields.

I look forward to receiving your contribution.

Prof. Dr. Marcia Nitschke
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • biosurfactants
  • agroindustrial wastes
  • antimicrobial activity
  • bioremediation
  • biofilm
  • nanotechnology
  • glycolipid
  • lipopeptide

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 3915 KiB  
Article
The pH and Sucrose Influence Rhamnolipid Action Toward Planktonic and Biofilms of Listeria monocytogenes
by Tathiane Ferroni Passos and Marcia Nitschke
Microorganisms 2024, 12(10), 2078; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12102078 - 17 Oct 2024
Viewed by 551
Abstract
Bacterial resistance and persistence in food environments are major concerns for the industry, which constantly seeks new strategies to reduce microbial contamination. Rhamnolipids (RL) biosurfactants are considered sustainable and green alternatives to synthetics; furthermore, they have demonstrated potential for controlling various foodborne pathogens. [...] Read more.
Bacterial resistance and persistence in food environments are major concerns for the industry, which constantly seeks new strategies to reduce microbial contamination. Rhamnolipids (RL) biosurfactants are considered sustainable and green alternatives to synthetics; furthermore, they have demonstrated potential for controlling various foodborne pathogens. Food environments are typically exposed to diverse pH, solutes, temperatures, and water activity (aw) levels that may favor the survival of pathogens. Therefore, it is crucial to consider these factors in evaluating the performance of novel antimicrobials. Our study examined the influence of pH and sucrose on the antimicrobial activity of RL against both planktonic and biofilm of Listeria monocytogenes. We found that the presence of sucrose can enhance the antimicrobial effectiveness of RL against both planktonic and sessile bacteria. The addition of sugar particularly improved RL action at pH 6 and 7. Moreover, we observed that the type and size of RL self-assembly structures depend on the pH and sucrose concentration. These findings suggest potential for developing RL-based innovative methods to control L. monocytogenes in sugar-rich or -low aw foods and environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Microbial Surfactants: Production and Applications)
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17 pages, 4609 KiB  
Article
Recombinant Production of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Rhamnolipids in P. putida KT2440 on Acetobacterium woodii Cultures Grown Chemo-Autotrophically with Carbon Dioxide and Hydrogen
by Jonas Widberger, Andreas Wittgens, Sebastian Klaunig, Markus Krämer, Ann-Kathrin Kissmann, Franziska Höfele, Tina Baur, Tanja Weil, Marius Henkel, Rudolf Hausmann, Frank R. Bengelsdorf, Bernhard J. Eikmanns, Peter Dürre and Frank Rosenau
Microorganisms 2024, 12(3), 529; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12030529 - 6 Mar 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1370
Abstract
The establishment of sustainable processes for the production of commodity chemicals is one of today’s central challenges for biotechnological industries. The chemo-autotrophic fixation of CO2 and the subsequent production of acetate by acetogenic bacteria via anaerobic gas fermentation represents a promising platform [...] Read more.
The establishment of sustainable processes for the production of commodity chemicals is one of today’s central challenges for biotechnological industries. The chemo-autotrophic fixation of CO2 and the subsequent production of acetate by acetogenic bacteria via anaerobic gas fermentation represents a promising platform for the ecologically sustainable production of high-value biocommodities via sequential fermentation processes. In this study, the applicability of acetate-containing cell-free spent medium of the gas-fermenting acetogenic bacterium A. woodii WP1 as the feeder strain for growth and the recombinant production of P. aeruginosa PAO1 mono-rhamnolipids in the well-established nonpathogenic producer strain P. putida KT2440 were investigated. Additionally, the potential possibility of a simplified production process without the necessary separation of feeder strain cells was elucidated via the cultivation of P. putida in cell-containing A. woodii culture broth. For these cultures, the content of both strains was investigated by examining the relative quantification of strain-exclusive genes via qPCR. The recombinant production of mono-rhamnolipids was successfully achieved with maximum titers of approximately 360–400 mg/L for both cell-free and cell-containing A. woodii spent medium. The reported processes therefore represent a successful proof of principle for gas fermentation-derived acetate as a potential sustainable carbon source for future recombinant rhamnolipid production processes by P. putida KT2440. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Microbial Surfactants: Production and Applications)
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