Six clusters of Lipopeptides Isoforms belonging to Cyclic and Linear Surfactin and Fengycin A and B Families were identified from a newly identified strain identified as B. mojavensis BI2. Purification by anionic exchange chromatography and Reverse Phase-High Performance Liquid Chromatography (RP-HPLC) and identification by High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (HPLC-MS) analyses were applied to characterize lipopeptides biosurfactants derived from B. mojavensis BI2. The m/z values of Cyclic and Linear homologues of Surfactin ranged from 980 and 1096 Da. The m/z values of cyclic homologues of Fengycin A and Fengycin B ranged from 1449 and 1505 Da. The m/z values of linear homologues of Fengycin A and Fengycin B ranged from 1467 and 1523 Da. Functional properties of the BI2 lipopeptides revealed a powerful surface activity with the capacity to decrease the surface tension of water to about 27.4 mN/m and a Critical Micelle Concentration (CMC) value of 200 mg/L along with great efficiency when compared to chemical surfactants (Triton X100; CTAB and SDS). Additionally, similarly to chemical surfactants, they exhibited similar foaming and oil dispersing activities. Interestingly, lipopeptides isoforms are characterized by non-phytotoxicity with potential fertilizing effect. All these functional properties offer potential application of these lipopeptides in bioremediation of contaminated water.
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