Structural Diversity of the Lipopeptide Biosurfactant Produced by a Newly Isolated Strain, ME63.

The genus is active in degradation of hydrocarbons in thermophilic and facultative environments since it was first reported in 1920. Here, we report a new strain, ME63, isolated from an oilfield with the ability of producing the biosurfactant. The composition, chemical structure, and surface activity of the biosurfactant produced by ME63 were investigated by using a combination of the high-performance liquid chromatography, time-of-flight ion mass spectrometry, and surface tensiometer. The biosurfactant produced by strain ME63 was identified as surfactin with six variants, which is one of the representative family of lipopeptide biosurfactants. The amino acid residue sequence in the peptide of this surfactin is N-Glu → Leu → Leu → Val → Leu → Asp → Leu-C. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the surfactin is 55 mg L, and the surface tension at CMC is 35.9 mN m, which is promising in bioremediation and oil recovery industries. The surface activity and emulsification properties of biosurfactants produced by ME63 showed excellent resistance to temperature changes, salinity changes, and pH changes.