Summary
Biosurfactant production is a desirable property of hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms
(HDM). We characterized biosurfactant producing microbial populations
from a Long Beach soil, California (USA) and a Hong Kong soil (China), contaminated
with diesel oil. A total of 33 hydrocarbon-utilizing microorganisms were isolated from
the soils. Twelve isolates and three defined consortia were tested for biosurfactant
production and emulsification activity.