Soil bacteria – potential contaminants of vegetable oils

Bacterial strains capable of using vegetable oil as the sole source of carbon have been isolated from the soil by the enrichment culture method followed by isolation into pure cultures. Using MALDI TOF mass spectrometry, representatives of the genera Acinetobacter (Acinetobacter pittii), Pseudomonas (Pseudomonas antarctica, Pseudomonas koreensis), Rhodococcus (Rhodococcus erythropolis) were identified. To the share of the representatives of the genus Acinetobacter accounted for 25% of the isolated strains, representatives of the genera Pseudomonas and Rhodococcus - 37.5% of isolated strains each. Rhodococcus erythropolis has been shown to grow in vegetable oil at the temperature range of 12°C to 35°C with a generation time of about 16 hours at 12°C and about 11 hours at 35°C. The growth curve corresponds to diauxia. Keywords: VEGETABLE OIL, SOIL BACTERIA, CONTAMINATION, ACINETOBACTER PITTII, PSEUDOMONAS ANTARCTICA, PSEUDOMONAS KOREENSIS, RHODOCOCCUS ERYTHROPOLIS