A laboratory-scale river microcosm was used to investigate the effect of the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) on the attachment of five Pseudomonasstrains to natural river-sediment surfaces. Three of the Pseudomonasstrains were chosen for their known ability to express alkylsulphatase enzymes capable of hydrolysing SDS, and the other two for their lack of such enzymes. One strain from each category was isolated from the indigenous bacterial population present in the river sediment used; other isolates were from soil or sewage. The alkylsulphatase phenotypes were confirmed by gel zymography of cell extracts. Addition of SDS to mixed suspensions of river sediment with any one of the biodegradation-competent strains stimulated the attachment of bacteria to the sediment particles. In contrast, the attachment of biodegradation-incompetent strains was weak and, moreover, was unaffected by SDS. The SDS-stimulated attachment for competent organisms coincided with rapid biodegradation of the surfactant. The primary intermediate of SDS biodegradation, dodecan-1-ol, accumulated transiently, and the numbers of attached bacteria correlated closely with the amount of dodecan-1-ol present. Direct addition of dodecan-1-ol also stimulated attachment but the effect was more immediate compared with SDS, when there was a lag period of approximately 2 h. To account for these observations, a model is proposed in which SDS stimulates the attachment of biodegradation-competent bacteria through its conversion to dodecan-1-ol, and it is hypothesized that the observed reversibility of the attachment is due to the subsequent removal of dodecan-1-ol by further bacterial metabolism.
AndersonD.J.,
DayM.J.,
RussellN.J.,
WhiteG.F. Die-away kinetic analysis of the capacity of epilithic and planktonic bacteria from clean and polluted river water to biodegrade sodium dodecyl sulphate. Appl Environ Microbiol1990; 56:758–763
AronsteinB.N.,
AlexanderM. Surfactants at low concentrations stimulate biodegradation of sorbed hydrocarbons in samples of aquifer sands and soil slurries. Environ Toxicol Chem1992; 11:1227–1233
AronsteinB.N.,
AlexanderM. Effect of a non-ionic surfactant added to the soil surface on the biodegradation of aromatic hydrocarbons within soil. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol1993; 39:386–390
AronsteinB.N.,
CalvilloY.M.,
AlexanderM. Effects of surfactants at low concentrations on the desorption and biodegradation of sorbed aromatic hydrocarbons in soil. Environ Sri technol1991; 25:1728–1731
ClarkeK.R.,
JointI.R. Methodology for estimating numbers of free-living and attached bacteria in estuarine water. Appl Environ Microbiol1986; 51:1110–1120
GoldbergS.,
KonisY.,
RosenbergM. Effect of cetyl pyridinium chloride on microbial adhesion to hexadecane and polystyrene. Appl Environ Microbiol1990; 56:1678–1682
HumphriesM.,
JaworzynJ.F.,
CantwellJ.B. The effect of a range of biological polymers and synthetic surfactants on the adhesion of a marine Pseudomonas sp. strain NCMB 2021 to hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces. FEMS Microbiol Ecol1986; 38:299–308
HumphriesM.,
JaworzynJ.F.,
CantwellJ.B.,
EakinA. The use of non-ionic ethoxylated and propoxylated surfactants to prevent the adhesion of bacteria to solid surfaces. FEMS Microbiol Lett1987; 42:91–101
LawrenceJ.R.,
DelaquisP.J.,
KorberD.R.,
CaldwellD.E. Behavior of Pseudomonas fluorescens within the hydrodynamic boundary layers of surface microenvironments. Microb Ecol1987; 14:1–14
van LoosdrechtM.C.M.,
LyklemaJ.,
NordeW.,
SchraaG.,
ZehnderA.J.B. The role of bacterial cell wall hydro-phobicity in adhesion. Appl Environ Microbiol1987; 53:1893–1897
MarchesiJ.R.,
HouseW.A.,
WhiteG.F.,
RussellN.J.,
FarrI.S. A comparative study of the adsorption of linear alkyl sulphates and alkylbenzene sulphonates on river sediments. Colloids Surf1991a; S3:63–78
MarchesiJ.R.,
RussellN.J.,
WhiteG.F.,
HouseW.A. Effects of surfactant adsorption and biodegradability on the distribution of bacteria between sediments and water in a freshwater microcosm. Appl Environ Microbiol1991b; 57:2507–2513
McCourtieJ.,
Mac FarlaneT.W.,
SamaranayakeL.P. Effect of chlorhexidine gluconate on the adherence of Candida species to denture acrylic. J Med Microbiol1985; 20:97–104
McEldowneyS.,
FletcherM. Variability of the influence of physicochemical factors affecting bacterial adhesion to polystyrene substrate. Appl Environ Microbiol1986; 52:460–465
OberbremerA.,
Müller-HurtigR.,
WagnerF. Effect of the addition of microbial surfactants on hydrocarbon degradation in a soil population in a stirred reactor. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol1990; 32:485–489
ThomasO.R.T.,
WhiteG.F. Metabolic pathway for the biodegradation of sodium dodecyl sulfate by Pseudomonas sp. C12B. Biotech Appl Biochem1989; 11:318–327
VanhaeckeJ.,
RemonJ.,
MoorsM.,
RaesF.,
de RudderD.,
van PeteghemA. Kinetics of Pseudomonas aeruginosa adhesion to 304 and 316-L stainless steel: role of cell surface hydrophobicity. Appl Environ Microbiol1990; 56:788–795
WhiteG.F.,
RussellN.J. Biodegradation of anionic surfactants and related molecules. In Biochemistry of Microbial Degradation1993 Edited by
RatledgeC.
London: Kluwer; pp 143–177