Abstract
Biosurfactants are surface-active molecules produced by microorganisms, either on the cell surface or secreted extracellularly. They form a thin film on the surface of microorganisms and help in their detachment or attachment to other cell surfaces. They are involved in regulating the motility of bacteria and quorum sensing. Here, we describe the various types of biosurfactants produced by microorganisms and their role in controlling motility, antagonism, virulence, and cellular communication.
Highlights
Surfactants are amphipathic molecules that have a hydrophobic and a hydrophilic region
It has been shown that in P. aeruginosa, two pair of genes known as LasI/LasR and RhlI/RhlR function in series to control the expression of various factors such as virulence, biofilm formation, antibiotic production, biosurfactant production, and motility
Many studies have shown that biosurfactant production and the flagellar biosynthesis play an important role in swarming motility along with the cellular communications (Kearns, 2010)
Summary
Surfactants are amphipathic molecules that have a hydrophobic (nonpolar tail) and a hydrophilic (polar head) region. The genetic regulation of biosurfactant production has been mostly studied in the rhamnolipid producing strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and it is extensively shown in the literature that the biosurfactant production is induced with the involvement of quorum sensing signaling molecules (Dusane et al, 2010; Reis et al, 2011; Soberón Chávez et al, 2021). 3) Signal sensing: binding of AIs to receptors activates the AIs signaling systems which activate various gene expressions responsible for various factors such as virulence, pathogenicity, motility, biofilm formation, antibiotic production, biosurfactant production, etc.
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