183
Polymer/Compound
produced
Phospholipids and fatty
acids surface active
molecules
Glycolipopeptide surface
active molecules
Exopolysaccharides
complex surface active
polymer
Marine
Microorganisms
Myroides
Properties
Potential
applications
production.
Good surface active agent
Uncertain.
Corynebacterium
kutscheria
Emulsification
hydrocarbons
of
different
Remediation of
hydrocarbon
polluted sites
Emulsification and removers of
pollutant metals and toxic elements
means that they are useful in
bioremediation
Oil recovery and
additional
industrial uses
These compounds are isolated from polluted marine environments after oil spills using several
screening methodologies to isolate high and low-molecular weight BS and BE211. Biosurfactants
produced by these microorganisms are then optimised and comparative studies are then conducted
in laboratory conditions to show performance in a wide range of conditions by testing a number of
measurements including surface tension/interfacial tension measurement212. Private biotech
companies and university researchers are typically behind production of novel organisms and trials
rely on actual oil spills in order to test effectiveness; Alcanivorax was trialled by a biotech company
at the Gulf of Mexico spill with inconclusive results. Biotech companies will be involved in the
research, development, consultation and manufacture of these products.
Wastewater treatment
Wastewater treatment is another area of bioremediation that marine microorganisms are utilised in
for the removal of toxic metals including lead, cadmium and zinc through chelation213 from
solutions214. Microorganisms produce exopolysaccharide (EP) that helps to remove/remediate toxic
metal pollution; those isolated from deep-sea thermal vents have been shown to bind and remove
these metals, other microorganisms also have a high binding ability towards monovalent and
divalent ions or high uronic acid contents which increase EPS affinity for heavy metals.
Chitin and Chitosan, extracted from crustacean such as prawns and crabs, can be used to remove
potentially dangerous heavy metal ions from wastewater. Specifically, chitosan composites can be
used as adsorbents to remove dyes in wastewater in areas of varying levels of pollution from
synthetic dyes215.
Environmental monitoring – biomarkers and biosensors
Marine cnidarians, such as jellyfish, have auto-illuminating green-fluorescent proteins (GFPs) is
increasingly used as a biosensor in research and industry to monitor gene expression216. Through
fusing a promoter-less reporter gene such as gfp (encoding green-fluorescent protein) with a
pollutant-response gene a microbial biosensor is created that will react to specific chemical
211 Batista, S. B., Mounteer, A. H., Amorim, F. R., & Totola, M. R., 2006, Isolation and characterization of
biosurfactant/bioemulsifier-producing bacteria from petroleum contaminated sites. Bioresource Technology, 97(6), 868-875.
212 Kumar, A. S., Mody, K. & Jha, B., 2007, Evaluation of Biosurfactant/Bioemulsifier Production by a Marine Bacterium. Bull
Environ Contam Toxicol 79, 617–621
213 A particular way that ions and molecules bind to metal ions
214 Das, P., Mukherjee, S., & Sen, R., 2009, Biosurfactant of marine origin exhibiting heavy metal remediation properties.
Bioresource technology, 100(20), 4887-4890.
215 Wan Ngah, W. S., Teong, L. C. & Hanafiah, M. A. K. M., 2011, Adsorption of dyes and heavy metal ions by chitosan
composites: A review. Carbohydrate Polymers 83, 1446–1456
216 Hötzer, B., Scheu, T., Jung, G. & Castritius, S., 2012, Measurement of the copper concentration in drinking water based on
changes of the fluorescence lifetime of the green fluorescent protein. in 8550, 855021–855021–10
156
Study in support of Impact Assessment work on Blue Biotechnology
184
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