Rhamnolipids: diversity of structures, microbial origins and roles
By A. Abdel-Mawgoud, F. Lépine, Eric Déziel. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 2010
875 citations recorded by the source corpus.
Rhamnolipids are glycolipidic biosurfactants produced by various bacterial species. They were initially found as exoproducts of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa and described as a mixture of four congeners: α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-β-hydroxydecanoyl-β-hydroxydecanoate (Rha-Rha-C10-C10), α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-β-hydroxydecanoate (Rha-Rha-C10), as well as their mono-rhamnolipid congeners Rha-C10-C10 and Rha-C10. The development of more sensitive analytical techniques has lead to the further discovery of a wide diversity of rhamnolipid congeners and homologues (about 60) that are produced at different concentrations by various Pseudomonas species and by bacteria belonging to other families, classes, or even phyla. For example, various Burkholderia species have been shown to produce rhamnolipids that have longer alkyl chains than those produced by P. aeruginosa. In P. aeruginosa, three genes, carried on two distinct operons, code for the enzymes responsible for the final steps of rhamnolipid synthesis: one operon carries the rhlAB genes and the other rhlC. Genes highly similar to rhlA, rhlB, and rhlC have also been found in various Burkholderia species but grouped within one putative operon, and they have been shown to be required for rhamnolipid production as well. The exact physiological function of these secondary metabolites is still unclear. Most identified activities are derived from the surface activity, wetting ability, detergency, and other amphipathic-related properties of these molecules. Indeed, rhamnolipids promote the uptake and biodegradation of poorly soluble substrates, act as immune modulators and virulence factors, have antimicrobial activities, and are involved in surface motility and in bacterial biofilm development.
Subfields: Environmental Chemistry, Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis, Pollution
View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/bf2cc7747eb456c9cb7f8be2b0025a312c53671b
How researchers see this paper
The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.
- A. Abdel-Mawgoud
- Inès Mnif
- F. Lépine
- S. Ellouz-Chaabouni
- D. Ghribi
- Eric Déziel
Citations in the corpus
- Rhamnolipids: Detection, Analysis, Biosynthesis, Genetic Regulation, and Bioengineering of Production (2011, background): “Another line of research is devoted to understanding the role of these biomolecules for the producing microorganisms as well as their interactions with other biological systems, especially the human body (Abdel-Mawgoud et al. 2010; Van Hamme et al. 2006).”
- Glycolipid Biosurfactants, Main Classes, Functional Properties and Related Potential Applications in Environmental Biotechnology (2018, background): “Rhamnolipids are generally synthetized under two primordial forms: a mono-rhamnolipid, rhamnosyl-β-hydroxydecanoy-βhydroxydecanoate and a di-rhamnolipid, the rhamnosylrhamnosyl-β-hydroxydecanoyl-β-hydroxydecanoate [26].”
- Rhamnolipids as biosurfactants from renewable resources: Concepts for next-generation rhamnolipid production (2012, neutral): “reviewed the structural diverity of rhamnolipids [36].”