Protatranes, effective growth biostimulants of hydrocarbon-oxidizing bacteria from Lake Baikal, Russia.

Under natural conditions, biodegradation processes proceed slowly, especially in regions with low temperature. To activate vital processes in hydrocarbon-oxidizing microorganisms at low temperatures, biologically active compounds can be employed as growth stimulants. A low-temperature (10 °C) study has shown that tris-(2 hydroxyethyl) ammonium arylchalcogenylacetates, "protatranes" exert an effect on the growth of hydrocarbon-oxidizing strains of and , isolated from natural oil seepage on Lake Baikal. It has been found that "protatranes", at microconcentrations, increase the growth rate of bacteria by 2-16 times. It has been established that compounds slightly effect the growth of . The positive effect of "protatranes" compounds on the growth rate of hydrocarbon-oxidizing microorganisms at low positive temperatures can be used for the development of environmentally benign methods for the restoration of natural objects after their contamination with oil.