NOVELTY - Converting organic material or inorganic material (including such contained in water or salt water) petroleum, solid fossil fuels, including coal, as well as oil tars obtained by distillation of coal, turf, grass, glucose, rubber, sapropel, sapropelites, slates, and wood, to petroleum or into carbon hydrogen or oxygen, comprises isolating a starting microorganism capable of the conversion; isolating from the starting microorganism the genes responsible for the conversion ability; and transfecting the genes into a host microorganism.    USE - The methods are used for converting organic material or inorganic material (including such contained in water or salt water) petroleum, solid fossil fuels, including coal, as well as oil tars obtained by distillation of coal, turf, grass, glucose, rubber, sapropel, sapropelites, slates, and wood, to petroleum or into carbon hydrogen or oxygen; for improving converting of organic material or inorganic material (including such contained in water or salt water) petroleum, solid fossil fuels, including coal, as well as oil tars obtained by distillation of coal, turf, grass, glucose, rubber, sapropel, sapropelites, slates, and wood, to petroleum or into carbon hydrogen or oxygen; and for converting carbon, hydrogen and oxygen into fossil fuels, including coal and petroleum (all claimed).    ADVANTAGE - A method of making microorganisms capable of producing petroleum from coal, or wood or certain other fossil fuels or raw materials, where gene sequences responsible for such production are isolated from microorganisms capable of such production, and transfected into suitable hosts, with better productivity or viability, is provided.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - INDEPENDENT CLAIMS are:    (1) a method of improving converting of organic material or inorganic material (including such contained in water or salt water) petroleum, solid fossil fuels, including coal, as well as oil tars obtained by distillation of coal, turf, grass, glucose, rubber, sapropel, sapropelites, slates, and wood, to petroleum or into carbon hydrogen or oxygen, by isolating a starting microorganism capable of the conversion; isolating from the starting microorganism an oligonucleotide probe complementary to a gene responsible for the conversion ability; placing the probe under hybridizing conditions in contact with amplicons from other microorganisms suspected or being capable of the conversion; isolating amplicons which hybridized; and transfecting the isolated amplicons into a host microorganism and determining whether productivity improved; and    (2) a method of converting carbon, hydrogen and oxygen into fossil fuels, including coal and petroleum, by isolating a starting microorganism capable of the conversion; isolating from the starting microorganism the genes responsible for the conversion ability; and transfecting the genes into a host microorganism.