Determination of cyanobacteria diversity from hot springs around aydin province by culture independent methods

Objectives: The thesis's objectives were to determine the cyanobacterial diversity from hot springs around Aydın province and surrounding using culture independent methods. Material and Methods: Total genomic DNAs were isolated from water, mud or soil samples and 16S rDNA genes were amplified from extracted environmental DNAs. Amplicons were then cloned into E.coli cells, transformed cells were chosen and PCR reactions were done using M13 primers. Amplicons obtained by M13 PCR, were sequenced and according to BLAST analyses homologies were determined in GenBank database. Results: In this study we highlighted the Cyanobacterial diversity of hot springs in Aydın and its surroundings using culture independent methods as well as cloning of PCR amplified fragments of 16S rRNA genes. The total number of cloned colonies were 298 of which 201 belonged to Cyanobacteria phylum while 97 other phylum and the percentage identity found were in the range of 78% to 100%. Most abundant species detected were, Planktothricoides raciborskii, Trichocoleus desertorum, Spirulina subsalsa, Gleobacter violaceus, Leptolyngbya laminosa, Synechococcus sp. and Alkalinema pantanalense. Conclusion: Our study is important for being first culture- independent approach to determine thermophilic cyanobacteria from thermal environments in Aydın Province and surrounding area, Turkey and may provide new insights into the Cyanobacteria researches from extreme habitats. Keywords: Cyanobacteria, Culture Independent Method, Hot Springs and 16S rDNA