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The Importance of Rhamnolipid-Biosurfactant-Induced Changes in Bacterial Membrane Lipids of Bacillus subtilis for the Antimicrobial Activity of Thiosulfonates

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Abstract

The antimicrobial properties of methyl (MTS) and ethyl (ETS) esters of thiosulfonic acid alone and in combination with rhamnolipid-biosurfactant (RL) have been characterized for their ability to disrupt the normal physiological functions of living pathogens. Bactericidal and fungicidal activities of MTS and ETS and their combination with rhamnolipid were demonstrated on strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, Alcaligenes faecalis, and Rhizopus ngtricans. It was found that the combination of rhamnolipid and thiosulfonic esters has a synergistic effect leading to decreasing of bactericidal and fungicidal concentrations of MTS and ETS. More extensively was studied the effect of rhamnolipid on the lipid composition of B. subtilis bacterial membrane. To our knowledge, in this article is reported for the first time a remarkable increase of negatively charged phospholipid cardiolipin in the presence of rhamnolipid. The capacity of RL as a surface-active substance was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The occurrence of surface infolds and blebs on B. subtilis shown by SEM, was not accompanied by changes in membrane permeability tested by a live/dead viability staining for fluorescence microscopy. When RL was applied in combination with MTS, a dramatic permeability shift for propidium iodide was observed in vegetative cells.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Cooperation Joint Project D002-34/2008 between the Bulgarian and Ukrainian Ministries of Education and Science.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Stephan Angeloff Institute of Microbiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev St., Block 26, 1113, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Anna Sotirova, Tatyana Avramova, Stoyanka Stoitsova, Irina Lazarkevich & Danka Galabova

  2. Institute of Physical Chemistry, Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Bandera Str. 12, Lviv, Ukraine

    Vera Lubenets & Elena Karpenko

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  1. Anna Sotirova
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  2. Tatyana Avramova
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  3. Stoyanka Stoitsova
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  4. Irina Lazarkevich
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  5. Vera Lubenets
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  6. Elena Karpenko
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  7. Danka Galabova
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Correspondence to Danka Galabova.

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Sotirova, A., Avramova, T., Stoitsova, S. et al. The Importance of Rhamnolipid-Biosurfactant-Induced Changes in Bacterial Membrane Lipids of Bacillus subtilis for the Antimicrobial Activity of Thiosulfonates. Curr Microbiol 65, 534–541 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-012-0191-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-012-0191-7

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