The present study focuses on the optimization of biosurfactant (BS) production using two potential biosurfactant producer Pseudomonas stutzeri NA3 and Acinetobacter baumannii MN3 and role of enzymes in the biodegradation of crude oil. The optimal conditions for P. stutzeri NA3 and A. baumannii MN3 for biodegradation were pH of 8 and 7; temperature of 30 and 40 °C, respectively. P. stutzeri NA3 and A. baumannii MN3 produced 3.81 and 4.68 g/L of BS, respectively. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry confirmed that BS was mainly composed of fatty acids. Furthermore, the role of the degradative enzymes, alkane hydroxylase, alcohol dehydrogenase and laccase on biodegradation of crude oil are explained. Maximum biodegradation efficiency (BE) was recorded for mixed consortia (86%) followed by strain P. stutzeri NA3 (84%). Both bacterial strains were found to be vigorous biodegraders of crude oil than other biosurfactant-producing bacteria due to their enzyme production capabilities and our results suggests that the bacterial isolates can be used for effective degradation of crude oil within short time periods.
Keywords: Alkane hydroxylase; Biodegradation; Biosurfactant; Emulsification activity; FT-IR spectroscopy; GC–MS.