             !"#$%&" ’#( )**+,,,#"#$%&"-’#(’.     Full Length Research Paper Surveillance of the condition of bacteria and Amaranthus viridis in a gasoline contaminated soil Adetitun, D. O*., Olayemi, A. B., Kolawole, O. M., Akintunde, O. M. and Anibijuwon, I. I. Infectious Diseases and Environmental Health Research Group, Department of Microbiology, University of Ilorin, P.M.B. 1515, Ilorin, Nigeria. Accepted 26 April, 2013 The condition of bacteria and Amaranthus viridis in gasoline-contaminated soil was surveyed. The soil was treated with different concentrations of petrol oil: 0 ml (control), 18, 56, 112, 168 and 224 ml. Each of the concentrations was in triplicates. Seventeen (17) bacterial isolates were recovered from the control soil while twenty (20) bacterial isolates were recovered from the polluted soil. A total of twenty four (24) different genera were recovered from the soil. The organisms are Acinetobacter ceticus, Actinomyces sp, Aerococcus viridians, Alcaligenes paradoxus, Arthrobacter, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus polymxa, Bacillus subtilis, Chromobacterium violaceum, Clostridium sp., Corynebacterium hydrocarbodastus, Corynebacterium kutsceri, Corynebacterium xerosis, Cytophaga sp., Erwinia sp., Flavobacterium sp., Micrococcus luteus, Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas putida, Sarcina ventricule, Serratia sp., Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus sp. The pH, temperature, organic matter content, moisture content and water holding capacity of the soil were determined. A. viridis had 100% germination in both the control (0 ml) and 18 ml gasoline-treated soils while it had delayed germination in the other treatments (56, 112, 168 and 224 ml). The results obtained in this study showed that gasoline spillage posses a great threat to the survival and development of plants. It also revealed that certain bacteria could survive the gasoline-contaminated soil and thus may be useful in biodegradation and/or bioremediation of gasoline contaminated soils. Key words: Surveillance, bacteria, Amaranthus viridis, gasoline, contaminated soil. INTRODUCTION Petroleum is a naturally occurring flammable liquid found in rock formations in earth’s crust and consists of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and organic compounds. The proportion of these hydrocarbons is highly variable. The most common products of petroleum distillations are fuels which include: ethane and other short-chain alkanes, diesel fuel (petro diesel), fuel oils, gasoline (petrol), jet fuel, kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) (Srujana and Anisa, 2011). Ojumu (2004) reported that the dominance of petroleum products in the world economy creates the condition for distributing large amounts of these toxins into areas having high human populations as well as other ecosystems around the globe. Gasoline is a toxic, translucent, petroleum derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. Gasoline is a complex mixture of organic compounds and it also has been shown to be toxic to plants (Trapp et al., 2001). Processing and distribution of crude oil hydrocarbons as well as the use of petroleum products leads to contamination of soil (Ayotamuno et al., 2006). Changes in soil properties due to contamination with petroleum- derived substances can lead to water and oxygen deficits as well as to shortage of available forms of nitrogen and phosphorus (Wyszkowska and Kucharski, 2000). Contamination of the soil environment can also limit its *Corresponding author. E-mail: adetitun.do@gmail.com. Tel: +2348036910988.