A group of free-living bacteria known as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) inhabit the rhizosphere and aid root development. These rhizobacteria bacteria are vital to the growth of plants and can serve as bio-fertilizer and can enhance food security through green agricultural practices. They exhibit special features which make them potential candidates as bio-fertilizer. Isolation and characterization of rhizobacteria is the first step toward their utilization as bio-fertilizers. Ten rhizobacteria from two different rice farms were isolated and characterized for plant growth promoting properties. The isolated rhizobacteria were identified morphologically, microscopically, biochemically, and molecularly. Plant’s growth promoting properties of these rhizobacteria was also analyzed which includes; Indole 3-acetic acid production (IAA), phosphate solubilisation, hydrogen cyanide production (HCN), ammonia production (NH3), and zinc solubilisation. Out of the ten isolates, three were found to have the best plant growth enhancing properties and were therefore the best candidates as bio-fertilizers. 16SrRNA study and phylogenetic analysis was performed in order to unravel the specie of these three isolates and they were identified as Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus niacini, and Bacillus cereus with accession numbers OM184294, OM1842295 and OM184296 respectively. These isolates have the potential to be used as bio-fertilizer, which would significantly contribute to food security.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has identified 16 substances as priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that are harmful to humans, including anthracene and phenanthrene. These substances are pervasive pollutants introduced into the environment through anthropogenic and natural processes, causing ecological concerns and necessitating the quest for new strains capable of biodegrading these toxins. A novel strain of the genus Pseudomonas was isolated and molecularly identified based on partial 16S rRNA and phylogenetic analysis as Pseudomonas stutzeri strain BUK_BTEG1 from petrochemical contaminated soil. One factor at a time (OFAT) in Bushnell-Haas (BH) media was used to optimize the strain’s biodegradation conditions. The isolate could grow up to 600 mgL−1 and 400 mgL−1 of anthracene and phenanthrene as the sole carbon source at an optimum pH of 7.0 and 7.5 respectively, inoculum concentration of 4% (v/v), and temperature of 35°C during 72 hours of incubation. The strain could degrade phenanthrene and anthracene to a maximum of 99 and 72 percent, respectively, under ideal conditions. The breakdown products’ GC-MS analysis revealed the existence of the pathway’s main metabolites, catechol, salicylic acid, and derivatives of phthalic acid. The strain exhibits promising potential for use in the bio-cleansing of environments contaminated by PAHs.metabolites.