Abstract:
Pseudomonas species are remarkable for their capacity to colonize almost all terrestrial and aquatic ecological
niches. This genus includes species of ecological, economic and health-related importance. Although they are
globally active in aerobic decomposition and biodegradation, Pseudomonas includes species pathogenic for humans,
domestic animals and cultivated plants. The aim of this study was to identify members of the Pseudomonas species
from oil-polluted soil, investigate their diversity and compare it to phytopatogenic strains isolated from host-plants
near marked site.
Isolates were described phenotypically according to carbon assimilation, fluorescence on King B medium and
susceptibility patterns to 5 different heavy metals. In addition, they were characterized genotypically using plasmid
profile and fingerprints obtained with the (GTG)5 primer.
We have observed high heterogeneity within the Pseudomonas strains collected from oil- contaminated soils.
Phenotyping and (GTG)5 pattern showed that similarities between strains ranged from 55% to 94%, with some
strains showing high level of similarity with plant-pathogens.
