TITLE:
Study of Bacterial Diversity of Mangroves Rhizosphere
AUTHORS:
Nidhi Sakhia, Sunil Prajapati, Vikram Shetty, Shreyas Bhatt, Anasuya Bhadalkar
KEYWORDS:
Rhizosphere, Mangroves, Bacteria, Microbial Diversity, 16S rRNA Sequencing
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Marine Science,
Vol.6 No.1,
December
29,
2015
ABSTRACT: Microbial diversity has
been an important facet of scientific research, since microbes promise a
plethora of biomolecules which are otherwise not found in nature. Microbes are
subjected to high level of competition for survival in the environment, and hence
develop mechanisms of defense. The biomolecules produced by these microbes as
part of their defense or survival mechanism, are of importance for human and
animal drugs and many other industrial and environmental applications. The
marine counterparts of these terrestrial microbes have yet higher potential,
since the marine environment has higher biotic and abiotic stresses, leading to
new molecule discovery. In the current study, a bacterial diversity study of
the culturable bacteria of the mangrove rhizosphere of Avicennia marina has been undertaken, to understand the
flora diversity. Mangroves are unique ecosystems which are under a combination
of marine and terrestrial influence. Mangroves are seaward, inland and also
found in creek areas. This diversity in their habitat, leads them to produce
variable root exudates, which support the growth of different types of
organisms. This study has revealed that certain species are dominant in these
ecosystems irrespective of the biotic and abiotic stresses, whereas certain
species appear only at neutral pH. The study will help select organisms for
further biomolecule discovery programs, based on their environment of isolation
and other growth parameters.