International Science Community Association International Research Journal of Biological Sciences 2278-3202 8 1 2019 01 10 Hydrocarbon degradation potential of some hydrocarbon-utilizing bacterial species associated with Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) plant 10 19 EN Patil V.S. 1 Department of Microbiology, Lal Bahadur Shastri College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Satara-415002, MS, India A.O. Ashikodi 1 Department of Microbiology, University of Port Harcourt, P.M.B 5323, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria G.O. Abu 2 Department of Microbiology, University of Port Harcourt, P.M.B 5323, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria > Research Paper 2018 8 29 2019 01 10 13 Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) plant associated Hydrocarbon-Utilizing Bacterial isolates previously identified based on their morphological, biochemical and molecular characteristics as Providencia vermicola_01, Providencia rettgeriB10_04, Providencia rettgeri D04_10,Pseudomonas aeruginosa D10_10, Exiguobacterium aurantiacum F03_18, Providencia vermicola F10_16, Klebsiella pneumoniae G10_19, Stenotrophomonas maltophila A04_01, Providencia rustigianii H10_22, Lysinibacillus fusiformis B11_05, Lysinibacillus sphaericus C11_08, Pseudomonas aeruginosa F04_16 and Lysinibacillus sphaericus E11_were investigated for their degradation potential in crude oil, diesel and engine oil. The Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) plant was grown in a Niger Delta soil. Growth of these Kenaf associated bacteria was assessed for 7 days by monitoring the optical density (OD) of the media. OD values were observed to rise majorly between the first and three days of contact between the HUB and the hydrocarbons. The highest OD values measured for crude oil degradation was 1.548nm by Klebsiella pneumoniae G10_19, for engine oil 1.416nm by Klebsiella pneumonia and by Exiguobacterium aurantiacum 1.416nm. Significant difference in o.d. values was observed only for Exiguobacterium aurantiacum F03_18. This study provided information on suitable Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) HUB bacterial species to use for phytoremediation of engine oil, crude oil and diesel impacted soil in Niger Delta Region. Copyright@ International Science Community Association