Replacement of Hexachlorocyclohexane to Environmentally Friendly Biosurfactant as Precursor for the Production of Biosurfactant from Pseudomonas.

Production of biosurfactant can be substantially increased
by the addition of precursors like vegetable oils, petroleum
products, and other water-insoluble substances. Pseudomonas
Ptm+ strain produces biosurfactant in the presence of
hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), which specifically emulsifies
HCH, a recalcitrant organochlorine pesticide. Addition of
previously produced crude biosurfactant by the same
organism as a precursor instead of HCH increased
production of biosurfactants with a decrease in the total
fermentation time from 32 to 24 h. The main objective of
this paper was to find alternatives for HCH as an inducer.