Candida -produced biosurfactants- beneficial agents for environmental remediation biotechnologies

Although the Candida genus is extensively studied mainly due to its pathogenicity and virulence, the genus comprises numerous species and strains isolated from industrial or natural environments (soil, plants, a.s.o.). Due to their specific metabolic abilities, these strains are able to synthesize compounds with high economic value such as lipids, lipases, fatty acids and biosurfactants using low cost substrates including industrial and household wastes. The biosurfactants represent an advantageous ecologic alternative for synthetic surfactants for a wide range of biotechnological and industrial applications. Bioremediation of polluted soils, including those used in agriculture, represent a challenging domain in which the Candida-produced biosurfactants can be successfully used for in situ as well as ex situ technologies. The biosurfactants are also important biocontrol agents for crop protection. Therefore, during the last decades many studies were developed concerning the classification, gene regulation and optimization of parameters for obtaining biosurfactants from Candida sp.