ISOLATION AND SCREENING OF BIOSURFACTANT- PRODUCING BACTERIA FROM UYYOKONDAN RIVER, TIRUCHIRAPPALLI DISTRICT, TAMILNADU

Biosurfactants are the compound which helps in reducing surface tension. These compounds help in stabilizing mulsions, promoting foaming, and reducing surface tension etc. The demand for biosurfactants has been steadily increasing and may eventually replace their chemically synthesized counterparts as they are ecofriendly in nature, nontoxic, biodegradable etc. and due to these properties they are used extensively in industries.Biosurfactant producing bacteria were isolated from oil contaminated water samples from uyyokondan river, district of Tamilnadu, South India. The Haemolytic activity, emulsification activity, drop collapsing test as well as oil displacement test were used to determine biosurfactant producing activity of isolated bacterial strains. Among 9 different strains, were isolated and identified by morphologically and 16S rRNA Sequencing as a Achromobacter denitrificans, Bacillus flexus, Achromobacter xylosoxidans, Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas medocina, Pseudomonas putida, Bacillus badius, Lysinibacillus xylanilyticus, and Exiguobacterium homiense (99% homology).Strain Psuedomonas putida showed the highest activity for oil displacement test and emulsification test. In the present study an attempt on the significant role of bacteria in the production of biosufactant was made.