oa Identification of bacteria from the marine environment surrounding Qatar

The Arabian Gulf surrounding Qatar is distinct from other marine ecosystems due to its high salinity, and extreme temperature fluctuations and is underpinned by its massive oil and gas industry. To date, no microbial studies have been performed in Qatari waters to isolates and identify the microbial flora of the marine environment in Qatar. This study is thus planned to assess the microbial diversity of in marine environment surrounding Qatar using biochemical and molecular methods. In this study we isolated and cultured fifty bacteria that inhabited the marine environment in Qatar. The identification was done by morphological, biochemical and molecular methods. Phylogenetic analysis using 16S rDNA sequences indicated that the majority ( 88 %) of the strains belonged to g-Proteobacteria (Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio nigripulchritudo, Vibrio nereis ,Vibrio harveyi, Pseudoalteromonas piscicida, Pseudoalteromonas agarivorans, Pseudoalteromonas rubra, Pseudoalteromonas prydzensis, Halobacillus profundi , Cobetia marina, Shewanella loihica ,Virgibacillus dokdonensis ,Ruegeria mobilis), followed by CFB group bacteria ( 10% ) ( Tenacibaculum mesophilum); and low GC, Firmicutes (2%) (Bacillus boroniphilus). This study provides the preliminary observation in deciphering the bacterial diversity in marine environment of Qatar.