Isolation of Biosurfactant Producing Bacteria From Oily Skin Areas of Small Animals

Abstract

Oily skin areas of small animals may be a source of novel biosurfactant-producing bacteria. lularly and contain hydrophobic and hydrophilic moieties that confer the ability to accumulate between fluid phases, thus reducing surface and interfacial tension at the surface and interface respectively (2). Rosenberg and Ron (3) suggested that biosurfactants can be divided into low-molecular-mass molecules, which efficiently lower surface and interfacial tension, and high molecular-mass polymers, which are more effective as emulsion-stabilizing agents. Recently, several groups have presented intriguing data suggesting that biosurfactants are important for microbial growth and survival in the environment. For example, surfactin production is necessary for fruiting body formation by Bacillus subtilis (4). Apart from their obvious role as agents that decrease Background: Biosurfactants or microbial surfactants are surface-active biomolecules that are produced by a variety of microorganisms. They are a structurally diverse group of surface-active molecules and are highly sought after biomolecules for both present and future applications. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to isolate and identify biosurfactant producing bacteria from the ear canal and inguinal areas (oily skin areas) of dogs and cats. Materials and Methods: Eighty inguinal area and ear canal samples were collected from stray and owned dogs and cats (10 animals each, 20 samples) and screened for biosurfactant-producing bacteria using criteria such as hemolysis, oil spreading and E 24 emulsification index tests. The isolated strains were identified at genus level. Results: 42 hemolytic bacterial strains (20 from dogs and 22 from cats) were isolated. The owned animal's samples had a higher population of positive strains than the stray ones. In total 11 isolates (26. 2%) were positive for all examinations, out of these 9 (21. 1%) isolates belonged to owned animals. 9 isolates (out of 11) (82%) were gram positive of which 4 (44. 4%) were Bacillus spp. and 3 (27. 2%) Lactobacillus spp. Conclusions: The results showed that biosurfactant producing bacteria are distributed in the oily skin areas of both dogs and cats. Further investigation into the composition of the biosurfactants and phylogenetic determination of biosurfactant producing bacteria is suggested.

Isolation of Biosurfactant Producing Bacteria From Poultry Breast Skin

“…However, some skin areas that were not studied here may contain even more surfactants produced by BPB compared to studied areas. We could not find reports in respect to BPB isolation from birds or animals; however our other works indicated that BPB are also present on oily areas of small animal and ruminant skin (14, 15). The presence of BPB has been also described in the guts of some marine invertebrates (16).…”

Isolation and Selection of New Biosurfactant Producing Bacteria from Degraded Palm Kernel Cake under Liquid State Fermentation

“…Several strains were isolated from mixed cultures on nutrient agar, which were screened by measuring their surface tension activity and by conducting a drop-collapse assay and were used as inoculates for the fermentation process 31 .…”

Isolation of biosurfactant producing bacteria from Potwar oil fields: Effect of non-fossil fuel based carbon sources

“…Biosurfactants can be classified as low molecular weight biosurfactants; dealing mainly with the reduction in surface and interfacial tension levels, and high molecular weight biosurfactants; dealing mainly with emulsification and stabilization [8,9]. The chemical composition of biosurfactants depends on the biosynthetic pathway and enzymes (mainly transferases and synthases) needed for their production.…”

“…Recent advancements have provided the information that biosurfactants are a vital part of growth and reproduction of most biosurfactant producers e.g. Bacillus needs surfactin (biosurfactant) for formation of fruiting body, needed in order to reproduce [9]. Few biosurfactants adhere to cell membrane but most are released into the extracellular environment where these aid in cell survival through various biophysicochemical routes.…”

“…Due to their high compatibility with human skin, most cosmetic industries employs biosurfactants in shampoos, tooth pastes and other products [4]. Food industries are also employing biosurfactants, as these tend to raise the quality of fat-based products [9]. Some biosurfactants display therapeutic and antimicrobial properties.…”