PONE-D-19-24885

Evaluation of various methods of selection of B. subtilis strains capable of secreting surface-active compounds

PLOS ONE

Dear Grzegorz Klosowski, 

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PLOS ONE

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In page-2, lines39-40, after CMC give reference. 

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: In this submission to PLOS One, the authors carry out an experimental study on a three-step method for the selection of bacterial strains capable of producing surfactin. The authors find that their proposed selection strategy proved effective and made it possible to select the desired BS15 strain. The authors mention that the surfactin properties are derived from its chemical structure and is composed of a peptide loop of seven amino acids.

I consider this paper to be of interest to the PLOS One communities, and I am receptive towards publication subject to a minor comment. There has actually been prior work on computing peptides to understand surfactins, for example:

Biophysical Journal 85, 1377-1391 (2003)

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 20, 18158-18168 (2018)

In principle, computation could also be used to complement the experiments investigated in this manuscript. I am not asking the authors to carry out any calculations; however, it should probably be mentioned that such studies could complement the experiments discussed in this work.

Reviewer #2: This manuscript assess different techniques for determining surfactin production in Bacilli. This paper is clearly written, and the work is comprehensive. I recommend publication. I wish to raise only a few minor points:

1. How did you determine that strains were different? Also, can you provide any additional information about these strains (e.g. 16S)?

2. No information is provided regarding submerged culture. Please provide more details.

3. The correlation between surfactin production and surface tension is not too strong. I wonder if a multivariate regression involving the different isoforms would yield a better correlation?

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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Evaluation of various methods of selection of B. subtilis strains capable of secreting surface-active compounds

PONE-D-19-24885R1

Dear Dr. Grzegorz Kłosowski,

We are pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it complies with all outstanding technical requirements.

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With kind regards,

Ajaya Bhattarai

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

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