[Role of yeasts of the genus Candida in the transformation of the hydrocarbon energy in oil-contaminated gray-brown soil].

Energy transformation was studied in the processes of hydrocarbon metabolism by microorganisms in oil-contaminated grey-brown soil. For such microbial populations as Candida species which use hydrocarbon substrates only as an energy source but not for growth, the criteria of biomass or incidence are presumed to have a relative significance for revealing the comparative functional role of these populations in the self-purification of oil-contaminated soils. Therefore, it is necessary to simultaneously assay both the incidence and the functional activity of microorganisms expressed in terms of respiration intensity. A diagram is proposed which shows the role of Candida yeasts in transforming the energy of aromatic and paraffin hydrocarbons in oil-contaminated soils.