Burkholderia thailandensis as a microbial cell factory for the bioconversion of used cooking oil to polyhydroxyalkanoates and rhamnolipids.

The present work assessed the feasibility of used cooking oil as a low cost carbon source for rhamnolipid biosurfactant production employing the strain Burkholderia thailandensis. According to the results, B. thailandensis was able to produce rhamnolipids up to 2.2 g/L, with the dominant congener being the di-rhamnolipid Rha-Rha-C14-C14. Rhamnolipids had the ability to reduce the surface tension to 37.7 mN/m and the interfacial tension against benzene and oleic acid to 4.2 and 1.5 mN/m, while emulsification index against kerosene reached up to 64%. The ability of B. thailandensis to accumulate intracellular biopolymers, in the form of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), was also monitored. Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) was accumulated simultaneously and consisted of up to 60% of the cell dry weight. PHB was further characterized in terms of its molecular weight and thermal properties. This is the first study reporting the simultaneous production of polyhydroxyalkanoates and rhamnolipids by the non-pathogen rhamnolipid producer B. thailandensis.

Kourmentza C ，Costa J ，Azevedo Z ，Servin C ，Grandfils C ，De Freitas V ，Reis MAM ... -  《-》

Enhanced rhamnolipid production in Burkholderia thailandensis transposon knockout strains deficient in polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) synthesis.

Funston SJ ，Tsaousi K ，Smyth TJ ，Twigg MS ，Marchant R ，Banat IM ... -  《-》

Palm oil utilization for the simultaneous production of polyhydroxyalkanoates and rhamnolipids by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Marsudi S ，Unno H ，Hori K 《APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY》

Cost-effective rhamnolipid production by Burkholderia thailandensis E264 using agro-industrial residues.

The agro-industrial by-products corn steep liquor (CSL) and olive mill wastewater (OMW) were evaluated as low-cost substrates for rhamnolipid production by Burkholderia thailandensis E264. In a culture medium containing CSL (7.5% (v/v)) as sole substrate, B. thailandensis E264 produced 175 mg rhamnolipid/L, which is about 1.3 times the amount produced in the standard medium, which contains glycerol, peptone, and meat extract. When the CSL medium was supplemented with OMW (10% (v/v)), rhamnolipid production further increased up to 253 mg/L in flasks and 269 mg/L in a bioreactor. Rhamnolipids produced in CSL + OMW medium reduced the surface tension up to 27.1 mN/m, with a critical micelle concentration of 51 mg/L, better than the values obtained with the standard medium (28.9 mN/m and 58 mg/L, respectively). However, rhamnolipids produced in CSL + OMW medium displayed a weak emulsifying activity when compared to those produced in the other media. Whereas di-rhamnolipid congeners represented between 90 and 95% of rhamnolipids produced by B. thailandensis E264 in CSL and the standard medium, the relative abundance of mono-rhamnolipids increased up to 55% in the culture medium containing OMW. The difference in the rhamnolipid congeners produced in each medium explains their different surface-active properties. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of rhamnolipid production by B. thailandensis using a culture medium containing agro-industrial by-products as sole ingredients. Furthermore, rhamnolipids produced in the different media recovered around 60% of crude oil from contaminated sand, demonstrating its potential application in the petroleum industry and bioremediation. KEY POINTS: • B. thailandensis produced RL using agro-industrial by-products as sole substrates • Purified RL displayed excellent surface activity (minimum surface tension 27mN/m) • Crude RL (cell-free supernatant) recovered 60% of crude oil from contaminated sand.

Correia J ，Gudiña EJ ，Lazar Z ，Janek T ，Teixeira JA ... -  《-》

Characterization of rhamnolipid production by Burkholderia glumae.

To investigate if Burkholderia glumae can produce rhamnolipids, define a culture medium for good production yields, analyse their composition and determine their tensioactive properties. Burkholderia glumae AU6208 produces a large spectrum of mono- and di-rhamnolipid congeners with side chains varying between C(12)-C(12) and C(16)-C(16), the most abundant being Rha-Rha-C(14)-C(14).The effects on rhamnolipid production of the cultivation temperature, nitrogen and carbon source were investigated. With urea as the nitrogen source and canola oil as the carbon source, a production of 1000.7 mg l(-1) was reached after 6 days. These rhamnolipids display a critical micelle concentration of 25-27 mg l(-1) and decrease the interfacial tension against hexadecane from 40 to 1.8 mN m(-1). They also have excellent emulsifying properties against long chain alkanes. Burkholderia glumae AU6208 can produce considerable amounts of rhamnolipids. They are produced as diversified mixtures of congeners. Their side chains are longer than those normally produced by those of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. They also present excellent tensioactive properties. In contrast with the classical rhamnolipid producer Ps. aeruginosa, B. glumae is not a pathogen to humans. This work shows that the industrial production of rhamnolipids with this species could be easier than with Ps. aeruginosa.

Costa SG ，Déziel E ，Lépine F 《-》