ABSTRACT:
The present study focused on the isolation and extraction of biosurfactant producing bacteria. Bacterial colonies were isolated from oil-soaked soil sample collected from an automobile work shop in Bangalore, India on Nutrient Agar medium. A total of 8 bacterial colonies were isolated and were designated as ANS-1 to ANS-8. All isolates were then screened for biosurfactant production. The primary screening consisted of haemolytic assay, where isolates ANS1 and ANS6 showed ß-haemolysis and isolates ANS2 and ANS5 showed a-haemolysis. For secondary screening, oil displacement test and drop collapse test and emulsification index calculation were conducted. Isolate ANS6 showed positive for drop collapse test and oil displacement test. ANS6 demonstrated highest emulsification index of 63.333%. Extracted biosurfactant was characterized using FTIR which showed glycerine as a cyclic lipopeptides. The potential isolate with high biosurfactant producing ability was identified using 16s rRNA sequencing as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens VITANS6.