Abstract. Aboud EM, Burghal AA, Laftah AH. 2021. Genetic identification of hydrocarbons degrading bacteria isolated from oily sludge? and petroleum-contaminated soil in Basrah City, Iraq. Biodiversitas 22: 1934-1939. Petroleum is a major problem for environmental pollution due to the extensive use, which can reach all parts of the environment. Contaminated environments are required to identify bacterial diversity that has a remarkable ability to tolerate and biodegrade toxic compounds. The process of oil degradation by microorganisms in their natural environment is affected by certain chemical, physical and biological conditions. Bioremediation techniques are powerful for removing oil pollution, which reflects the ability of microorganisms to destroy organic pollutants. In the current study, six bacterial isolates (S1-S6) were isolated from oil-contaminated soils. mineral salt medium (MSM) was used to carry out biodegradation, crude oil degradation was an evaluation by the gravimetric method. After two weeks of incubation showed S5 isolate the greatest efficiency in oil degradation 53.6%, S1 and S6 also gave good capability degradation (47.31% and 44.9%) respectively, while isolates S2 and S3 gave the lowest percentage. All isolates were identified by 16S rDNA amplicons as Pseudomonas stutzeri, Psychrobacter faecalis, Pseudomonas songnenensis, Bacillus cereus, Psychrobacter quanticus strain E9R, and Psychrobacter quanticus strain EA422 according to molecular identification. The current study indicated that hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria specially Psychrobacter can be used to clean soil from crude oil and other industrial discharges.

Forty-four  bottles  of drinking water  were collected from the local markets of Basra City and stored in the laboratory refrigerator  at 4ºC until the physical, chemical and biological measurements were carried out. The results showed a discrepancy in the compatibility of the specifications written on the drinking water  bottle  label with the sample measurements as well as the variation in the results with the Iraqi standards for bottled water.  The percentage of bottled water that is not safe for drinking  was 88.5% of the total samples of the study. This value is high and an indication of lack of control over marketing  from the imported or produced in the local labs, so it is a danger to the health of the consumer. Results showed that the PH ranged 6.5–8 and did not exceed the values on the information sheet of the potable drinking water as well as the TDS, chloride, magnesium; nitrate and potassium which were within the permissible limits. In addition, the results showed that calcium, total hardness, fluoride and bacterial growth values exceeded  the permissible limits, and there are different significations between factors in samples.