The spill of more than 10 million barrels of crude oil in
the middle of the war zone in Kuwait has refocused
attention on the problem of hydrocarbon contamination
in the environment (Aldhous, 1991). Biodegradation
of hydrocarbons by the natural population of microorganisms
represents one of the primary mechanisms by
which petroleum and other hydrocarbon pollutants are
Corresponding author: M. H. Tadros
e-mail: tadros@ruf.uni-freiburg.de
eliminated from the environment (Radwan 1991; Sorkhoh
et al. 1990).