ECOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF AEROBIC EUBACTERIA FROM OIL-FIELDS OF TATARSTAN

Rhodococcus man's and Rhodococcus erythropolis proved to be the main r epresentatives of the hydrocarbon-oxidizing microbial communities of w ater-flooded oil fields in Tatarstan. A correlation between the salt r esistance of the strains tested and the salinity of the habitats was r evealed. The NaCl content of the medium influenced the CO2 evolution r ate and the incorporation of radioactively labeled acetate into the ce lls of the obligately halophilic strain 367-2. The capacity of the hyd rocarbon-oxidizing bacteria to oxidize hexadecane under microaerobic c onditions at the expense of nitrate reduction was documented. Ethanol, isopropanol, and acetate were found in the culture liquid of the hydr ocarbon-oxidizing bacteria grown with hexadecane. The trophic relation ships in the microbiocenosis of oil-containing ecosystems are discusse d.