Microorganisms produced biosurfactants are
promising agents in the bioremediation of pesticide
polluted soils as a result of their biodegradability and
non-toxic nature. This study was aimed at screening
bacteria for biosurfactant production in pesticide
contaminated agricultural soil, and identify them using
molecular technique. Ten bacteria species with potentials
to degrade lambda-cyhalothrin isolated in our previous
study were screened for biosurfactant production via the
drop collapse, oil spreading, emulsification index,
hydrocarbon overlay agar and bacterial adhesion to
hydrocarbon tests. The biosurfactant producers were
identified using the 16S rRNA. Results from the
biosurfactant screening showed that out of the ten
bacteria screened only four of the ten bacteria screened
which were identified as Bacillus strains were strongly
positive for production of biosurfactant. The four
Biosurfactant-Producing Lambda Cyhalothrin-
Degrading Bacteria (LCDB-BP) were identified using 16S
rRNA as Bacillus tequilensis strain LCDB-BP1, Bacillus
subtilis strain LCDB-BP2, Bacillus altitudinis strain
LCDB-BP3, and Bacillus subtilis strain LCDB-BP4 with
the accession numbers OP703607, OP703608, OP703609
and OP703610 respectively. These organisms can be
useful for biosurfactant production and bioremediation of
synthetic pyrethroid contaminated soil.
Keywords : Biosurfactant, Synthetic Pyrethroids (SP), Lambda-cyhalothrin (LC), Bacillus species, cultivated soil.