Bacteria isolated from groundwater aquifer core materials of pristine aquifers at Lula and Pickett, Oklahoma, and from a site with a history of aromatic hydrocarbon contamination and natural renovation located at Conroe, Texas, were screened for the presence of plasmid Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) by alkaline or enzyme lysis and agarose gel techniques. Some of the isolates were also subjected to taxonomic tests in addition to screening for resistance to antibiotics, tolerance to heavy metal salts, and bacteriocin production. There was no significant difference in the distribution of the traits usually associated with plasmid occurrence in isolates from the three sites. (Copyright (c) 1987 Society for Industrial Microbiology.)