Three microbial strains were isolated from the rhizosphere of alfalfa (Medicago sativa), grass mixture (Festuca rubra, 75 %; Lolium perenne, 20 %; Poa pratensis, 10 %), and rape (Brassica napus) on the basis of their high capacity to use crude oil as the sole carbon and energy source. These isolates used an unusually wide spectrum of hydrocarbons as substrates (more than 80), including n-alkanes with chain lengths ranging from C12 to C32, monomethyl- and monoethyl-substituted alkanes (C12-C23), n-alkylcyclo alkanes with alkyl chain lengths from 4 to 18 carbon atoms, as well as substituted monoaromatic and diaromatic hydrocarbons. These three strains were identified as Gordonia rubripertincta and Rhodococcus sp. SBUG 1968. During their transformation of this wide range of hydrocarbon substrates, a very large number of aliphatic, alicyclic, and aromatic acids was detected, 44 of them were identified by GC/MS analyses, and 4 of them are described as metabolites for the first time. Inoculation of plant seeds with these highly potent bacteria had a beneficial effect on shoot and root development of plants which were grown on oil-contaminated sand.