Sandrin T R, Chech A M, Maier R M
Department of Soil, Water, and Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA.
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2000 Oct;66(10):4585-8. doi: 10.1128/AEM.66.10.4585-4588.2000.
A model cocontaminated system was developed to determine whether a metal-complexing biosurfactant, rhamnolipid, could reduce metal toxicity to allow enhanced organic biodegradation by a Burkholderia sp. isolated from soil. Rhamnolipid eliminated cadmium toxicity when added at a 10-fold greater concentration than cadmium (890 microM), reduced toxicity when added at an equimolar concentration (89 microM), and had no effect at a 10-fold smaller concentration (8.9 microM). The mechanism by which rhamnolipid reduces metal toxicity may involve a combination of rhamnolipid complexation of cadmium and rhamnolipid interaction with the cell surface to alter cadmium uptake.