REGULATORY EFFECT OF GLUCOSE ON HYDROCARBON-OXIDIZING MICROORGANISMS IN SOIL

Model experiments showed that Rhodococcus ruber is the bacterium playi ng the leading role in the biodegradation of diesel fuel in contaminat ed gray desert soil. The dynamics of its population in contaminated so il correlated well with the respiratory activity of the soil. It was e stablished that the biodegradation of hydrocarbons in soil can be cont rolled by easily metabolizable carbohydrates. Glucose introduced into soil in an amount of up to 1 mg/g augmented the population of hydrocar bon-oxidizing microorganisms about tenfold and enhanced the rate of di esel fuel degradation threefold. Greater amounts of glucose in soil in hibited hydrocarbon utilization. This inhibitory effect of glucose was very similar to the so-called ''substrate-accelerated death.''