EVALUATING THE POTENTIAL OF BIOSURFACTANT PRODUCTION BY Bacillus coagulans and Micrococcus leteus ISOLATED FROM CRUDE OIL

Abstract

The study was aimed at evaluating the potential of biosurfactant production by Bacillus
coagulans and Micrococcus leteus isolated from crude oil. The sample was collected from
rivers State Nigeria and it was transported to Microbiology Laboratory of ATBU,
Bauchi.Mineral Salt Media (MSM) was prepared and 3ml of crude oil was added as a
carbon source,it was then incubated on a rotary shaker @ 120rpm for 72hrs. Colonies were
identified after a microscopy, Biochemicals etc.,the identified colonies; Bacillus coagulans
and Micricoccusleteus were screened for Biosurfactant production; Emulsification index,
Foam formation,Haemolysis test, Rhamnose test were conducted where Bacillus
coagulans exhibits higher potentials than Micrococcus. However, both the isolates
indicated above average biosurfactant production abilities. The study reported the
effectiveness of isolation through enrichment cycles, of, Bacillus coagulant and
Micrococcus luteus.The Strains, Bacillus coagulant and micrococcus luteus was found to
be an efficient biosurfactant producers using crude oil and other mixture of Luria bertani,
n-hexadecane and contaminated soil as the sole carbon and energy sources respectively.
The strains exhibited excellent growth potentials on crude oil. All these favorable
properties facilitate the strain as an efficient tool in various environmental applications,
particularly in the remediation of crude oil contamination sites. The different media should
be tested in production of biosurfactant by Bacillus coagulant and Microccus luteus using
an enrichment cycle. The chemicals elements in each components of enrichment cycle
mixture should be tested in future studies.