hydrocarbon-oxidizing bacteria

Oil and petroleum products are a signifi cant source of environmental pollution, leading to the accumulation of hydrocarbons in the soil profi le. They contaminate groundwater, disrupt natural soil biochemical processes, interact with mineral compounds – thereby reducing their bioavailability to plants – and cause the poisoning and death of living organisms. The study of hydrocarbon-oxidizing microorganisms is of considerable practical importance due to their ability to degrade hydrocarbons.

The substrate spectrum of hydrocarbon-oxidizing bacteria isolated from the soils of the Saratov region was studied: the soils of Balakovo (chronic anthropogenic pollution) and agricultural soils of Novokrivovka village (single hydrocarbon pollution). It was found that the microorganisms isolated from the urban soils of Balakovo, being under constant anthropogenic infl uence, had a wider substrate spectrum. It was revealed that 4 microorganisms isolated from the urban soils of Balakovo: Acinetobacter lwoffi i R44, Bacillus circulans E75, B.