Influence of Hydrocarbon-Oxidizing Bacteria on the Growth, Biochemical Characteristics, and Hormonal Status of Barley Plants and the Content of Petroleum Hydrocarbons in the Soil

Much attention is paid to the relationship between bacteria and plants in the process of the bioremediation of oil-contaminated soils, but the effect of petroleum degrading bacteria that synthesize phytohormones on the content and distribution of these compounds in plants is poorly studied. The goal of the present field experiment was to study the effects of hydrocarbon-oxidizing bacteria that produce auxins on the growth, biochemical characteristics, and hormonal status of barley plants in the presence of oil, as well as assessing the effect of bacteria and plants separately and in association with the content of oil hydrocarbons in the soil. The treatment of plants with strains of Enterobacter sp. UOM 3 and Pseudomonas hunanensis IB C7 led to an increase in the length and mass of roots and shoots and the leaf surface index, and an improvement in some parameters of the elements of the crop structure, which were suppressed by the pollutant. The most noticeable effect of bacteria on the plant hormonal system was a decrease in the accumulation of abscisic acid. The data obtained indicate that the introduction of microorganisms weakened the negative effects on plants under abiotic stress caused by the presence of oil. Plant-bacteria associations were more effective in reducing the content of hydrocarbons in the soil and increasing its microbiological activity than when either organism was used individually.