Biosurfactants

When surfaces used in the food industry are treated with lichenysin fewer microbes attach to them. For example, the number of MRSA microbes was halved at 8.3 μg/mL, as were the numbers of C. albicans (at 17.2 μg/mL), Y. enterocolitica (at 16.1 μg/mL) and C. jejuni (at 188.5 μg/mL) (Coronel-León et al., 2016).

Fengycin, iturin, and surfactin are similar lipopeptides produced bybacteria All these compounds act on the surface of the biofilm-forming target microbe, altering its capacity to attach to surfaces by decreasing surface tension. These surfactants insert themselves into the microbe’s cell membranes which alters the membrane permeability, eventually disrupting it and causing the microbe to swell and die (Zhang et al., 2017).

Further reading on biosurfactants

Coronel-León, J., Marqués, A. M., Bastida, J., and Manresa, A. (2016). Optimising the production of the biosurfactant lichenysin and its application in biofilm control. J. Appl. Microbiol. 120, 99–111 https://doi.org/10.1111/jam.12992.

Zhang, Q.-X., Zhang, Y., Shan, H.-H., Tong, Y.-H., Chen, X.-J., and Liu, F.-Q. (2017). Isolation and identification of antifungal peptides from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens W10. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 24, 25000–25009. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0179-8.

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