Effects of the surfactant Tween 80 on the growth and dibenzothiophene utilization by Exophiala spinifera isolated from oil- contaminated soil

Oil is one of the most important energy sources that contain variety of organosulfur compounds that are combustible and can produce sulfur dioxide which will cause pollution over the atmosphere and the soil. Dibenzothiophene (DBT) is often used as a model for biodesulfurization studies and surfactant Tween80 increases the solubility of DBT in water that leads to higher consumption by microorganisms.
DBT specific UV spectrophotometry at a wavelength of 323 nm was used to evaluate the ability of isolated Exophiala spinifera fungus in removal of DBT. The effect of various concentrations of surfactant Tween80 on the growth of the fungus and DBT utilization was studied.
Exophiala spinifera was able to remove 100% DBT after 7 days of incubation at 30 ° C and 180 rpm shaking. The effect of different concentrations of surfactant Tween80 on growth and DBT utilization by this fungus was examined and it was observed that the presence of surfactant in the culture medium increased the growth and removal of DBT, therefore the amount of DBT utilized with 0.4% concentration of the surfactant was about 30% more than that utilized without surfactant. However, higher concentrations of surfactant Tween80 decreased the growth and consumption of DBT by fungi.
Discussion and Exophiala spinifera was isolated from oil contaminated soil and able to utilize toxic compound DBT as a sulfur source in the presence of other carbon sources such as glucose. So this isolated strain could be a good candidate for the petroleum desulfurization and it is the first report about desulfurization of DBT by fungus Exophiala spinifera. Growth and removal of DBT by fungus increased in the presence of surfactant Tween80. It can be concluded that the surfactant increases the total DBT transfer between the organic and aqueous phases and has a potential application in DBT bioremediation system by the studied fungus biocatalyst.