Isolation of potential biosurfactant producer from Juru River, Penang

Biosurfactant is a structurally diverse group of surface-active molecule, synthesised by microorganisms. lt has the capability of reducing surface and interfacial tension with low toxicity and high specificity and biodegradability. The objective of this study is to isolate and identify biosurfactant producing bacteria from the highly polluted water. The isolation of biosurfactant bacterial isolates was carried out on Minimal Salt Agar (MSA) supplemented with kerosene oil as sole carbon source for bacterial growth. 15 strains
were successfully isolated and screened for biosurfactant production. To confirm the ability of isolates to produce biosurfactant, different screening methods including
emulsification test, drop collapse test, oil spreading test and blood haemolysis test were carried out. Among 15 isolates, two of the isolates which are KJ3B3 and MJ2B4 were selected to undergo molecular characterization. Amplification of 16S rDNA was done using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the band of both isolates can be observed at a range of 1,000 to 1500 bp. Due to the time constraint, PCR product were not able to be sent for sequencing. Thus, the genus and species of both isolates cannot be identified.