In order to develop environmental technologies for crude oil degradation it is necessary to isolate and characterize specific microbial species for evaluation of their efficacy in utilization of hydrocarbons before application to field conditions.
The aim of our paper is to describe the ability of two bacterial strains, Ralstonia picketti SRS and Alcaligenes piechaudii SRS, to degrade crude oil and its refined products under laboratory conditions. Both bacteria investigated produce biosurfactants belonging to the major class of glycolipides – rhamnolipids as previously described [28]. The outcome of this microbiological work can be used for research on remediation of petroleum-contaminated environments.