Plasmids encoding naphthalene biodegradation in rhizosphere bacteria of the genus Pseudomonas

Rhizosphere bacteria Pseudomonas putida and Pseudomonas aureofaciens were genetically modified with naphthalene-degradation plasmids of different incompatibility groups. The majority of these plasmids were stably maintained in transconjugant strains and provided for their growth on naphthalene or salicylate as sole carbon sources. Strain-plasmid combinations most promising with respect to long-term viability of transconjugants in medium with naphthalene and the specific activity of naphthalene dioxygenase, a key enzyme of naphthalene catabolism, were elucidated.