Regulation of the Microbiome in Soil Contaminated with Diesel Oil and Gasoline

Petroleum-derived contaminants pose a significant threat to the soil microbiome. Therefore, it is essential to explore materials and techniques that can restore homeostasis in disturbed environments. The aim of the study was to assess the response of the soil microbiome to contamination with diesel oil (DO) and gasoline (G) and to determine the capacity of sorbents, vermiculite (V), dolomite (D), perlite (P) and agrobasalt (A), to enhance the activity of microorganisms under <i>Zea mays</i> cultivation conditions in pot experiments. The restoration and activity of the soil microbiome were evaluated based on the abundance and diversity of bacteria and fungi, using both classical microbiological methods and Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). Bioinformatic tools were employed to calculate the physicochemical properties of proteins. DO increased the abundance of cultured microorganisms, whereas G significantly reduced it. Both DO and G increased the number of ASVs of <i>Proteobacteria</i> and decreased the relative abundance of <i>Gemmatimonadetes</i>, <i>Chloroflexi</i>, <i>Acidobacteria</i>, <i>Verrucomicrobia</i>, <i>Planctomycetes</i>, and fungal OTUs. These contaminants stimulated the growth of bacteria from the genera <i>Rhodanobacter</i>, <i>Sphingomonas</i>, <i>Burkholderia</i>, <i>Sphingobium</i>, and <i>Mycobacterium</i>, as well as fungi belonging to the <i>Penicillium</i> genus. Conversely, they had a negative effect on <i>Kaistobacter</i>, <i>Rhodoplanes</i>, and <i>Ralstonia</i>, as well as the fungi <i>Chaetomium</i>, <i>Pseudaleuria</i>, and <i>Mortierella</i>. DO caused greater changes in microbial alpha diversity than G. The stability of microbial proteins was higher at 17 °C than at -1 °C. The most stable proteins were found in bacteria and fungi identified within the core soil microbiome. These organisms exhibited greater diversity and more compact RNA secondary structures. The application of sorbents to contaminated soil altered the composition of bacterial and fungal communities. All sorbents enhanced the growth of organotrophic bacteria (Org) and fungi (Fun) in DO-contaminated soils, and actinobacteria (Act) and fungi in G-contaminated soils. V and A had the most beneficial effects on cultured microorganisms. In DO-contaminated soils, all sorbents inhibited the growth of <i>Rhodanobacter</i>, <i>Parvibaculum</i>, <i>Sphingomonas</i>, and <i>Burkholderia</i>, while stimulating <i>Salinibacterium</i> and <i>Penicillium</i>. In G-contaminated but otherwise unamended soils, all sorbents negatively affected the growth of <i>Burkholderia</i>, <i>Sphingomonas</i>, <i>Kaistobacter</i>, <i>Rhodoplanes</i>, <i>Pseudonocardia</i>, and <i>Ralstonia</i> and increased the abundance of <i>Gymnostellatospora</i>. The results of this study provide a valuable foundation for developing effective strategies to remediate soils contaminated with petroleum-derived compounds.