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Oil contamination is a worldwide concern now. However, oil contaminated environment is enriched with microorganisms that can utilize petroleum oil and use hydrocarbon for their growth, nutrition and metabolic activities. In the present study, bacteria present in the oil contaminated soil were isolated by enrichment culture technique using Minimal Salt (MS) media supplemented with diesel oil and burned engine oil as a sole carbon source. The isolated bacteria were characterized by morphological and biochemical tests and identified by molecular tool through cycle sequencing method. Three isolates were morphologically characterized as gram-negative, cocci shaped and 16S rRNA sequence analysis revealed that the isolates are closely related to Pseudomonas sp. , Acinetobacter sp. , and Enterobacter sp . respectively. Growth condition was optimized at pH 7.0 and temperature 37 °C. All the isolates were susceptible to several antibiotics and they have no antagonistic effect with soil beneficial bacteria. Three isolates were grown in two different concentrations of diesel oil and burned engine oil (4% v/v and 8%, v/v) respectively. Study revealed that with increasing the concentration of diesel oil in the media the growth rate of all the isolates were decreased. In contrast, the growth rates of all the three isolates were increased, with increasing concentration of burned engine oil. In our study, all the isolates showed their degradation efficacy in 4% v/v diesel oil and in 8% v/v burned engine oil. So, our research clearly shows that the isolates could be potentially used for bioremediation purposes for cleaning up petroleum polluted area.

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Background Plasma technology is an emerging sector in agriculture. The effect of low-frequency glow discharge (LFGD) plasma at medium pressure (10 torr) on maize morpho-physiological and agronomical behavior was investigated in the current studies. The LFGD plasma act as a secondary messenger to improve maize production. This cutting-edge plasma technology can be used in agriculture to boost agronomic possibilities. Materials and methods Maize seeds were treated with LFGD Ar + Air gas plasma for 30 s, 60 s, 90 s, and 120 s. The gas ratio of Ar + Air was 1:99. Plasma was produced with a high voltage (1–6 kV) and low (3–5 kHz) frequency power supply across the electrodes. The internal pressure was maintained at ~ 10 torrs with a vacuum pump in the plasma chamber. Inside the plasma production chamber, the gas flow rate was maintained at 1 L/min. Results Effect of LFGD Ar + Air plasma on seed germination, and growth parameters including, shoot length, root length, fresh weight, dry weight, plant height, stem diameter, and chlorophyll were measured and in comparison with the control the parameter scores increased by 4.89%, 3.18%, 1.77%, 5.53%, 1.90%, 5.16%, 1.90%, 1.98%, respectively. The SEM image of the seeds surface demonstrated remarkable changes caused by plasma treatment. In roots, APX and SOD activities improved by only 0.022% and 0.64%, whereas, in shoots their activities showed a 0.014% and 0.25% increment compared to control. Further, H2O2, soluble protein, and sugar content increased by 0.12%, 0.33%, 2.50% and 1.15%, 1.41%, 2.99%, 1.16% in shoots and roots, respectively, while NO showed no significant changes in plants. Interestingly, notable improvement were found in nutritional properties (protein 0.32%, fat 0.96%, fiber 0.22%, ash 0.31%, grain iron 1.77%, shoots iron 7.61%, and manganese 6.25%), while the moisture content was reduced by 0.93% which might be useful in prolonged seed storage and the long life viability of the seeds. However, zinc (Zn) content in maize seedlings from plasma-treated seeds showed no significant change. Conclusion The present study revealed that LFGD Ar + Air gas plasma is associated with the elevation of ROS in leaves and roots, which in turn improves the seed germination rate, agronomic traits, growth, enzymatic activity, and nutritional supplement in maize. Graphical Abstract