Bacterial and archaeal communities in near-surface marine sediments from İzmir Bay (Eastern Aegean Sea), using Quantitative PCR

Abstract

Marine sediments are good sources of both subsistent and anthropogenic ingredients. Recently, an assessment of phylogenetic analysis at the genotypic and molecular levels has revealed the phylogenetic relationships of the prokaryotes. In our study, samples were collected from the surface of sediments in the İzmir Bay, located in the eastern Aegean Sea and surrounded by the coastal city of İzmir. Total genomic DNA was extracted from 0.25 g sediment of each sample and used in real-time qPCR to detect 16S rDNA genes of archaea, bacteria, sulfate-reducing bacteria, Desulfobulbus, and Desulfosarcina-Desulfococcus. Our results showed that the maximum number of all samples was found in bacterial primers (1.24×10⁹ DNA copy numbers/g), while the minimum number was observed in Desulfosarcina-Desulfococcus primers (1.17×10² DNA copy numbers/g). Consequently, genetic studies should focus on investigating the abundance levels of seasonal and annual microbial groups in future studies.