FIG 1.

Growth of R. erythropolis strain HX7 on minimal medium with oil as a sole source of carbon (cell titers 1 to 3) and oil degradation during growth (oil concentrations 1 to 3). The experiment was conducted in triplicate, and individual values of every test are presented, including oil concentrations in blank tests without added R. erythropolis HX7 cells (negative controls 1 to 3). Oil degradation is presented as the percentage of residual oil, which was measured using a gravimetric method after chloroform extraction. Cell titers were measured by counting CFU after spreading the dilutions of cultures onto agar plates with minimal medium (see text) with glucose as the carbon source instead of oil.