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Original scientific article

SYMPHONY OF THE SEAS: UNVEILING METAGENOMIC BIODIVERSITY THROUGH 16S rRNA IN THE RED SEA

By
Nourah Alzahem Orcid logo ,
Nourah Alzahem

Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University , Riyadh , Saudi Arabia

Maged A. Al-Garadi Orcid logo ,
Maged A. Al-Garadi
Contact Maged A. Al-Garadi

Department of Animal Production, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University , Riyadh , Saudi Arabia

Arunachalam Chinnathambi Orcid logo ,
Arunachalam Chinnathambi

Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University , Riyadh , Saudi Arabia

Saleh H. Salmen Orcid logo ,
Saleh H. Salmen

Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University , Riyadh , Saudi Arabia

Milton Wainwright Orcid logo ,
Milton Wainwright

Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield , Sheffield , United Kingdom

Sulaiman Ali Alharbi Orcid logo
Sulaiman Ali Alharbi

Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University , Riyadh , Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The Red Sea is the habitat of rare microbial communities that have evolved in extreme environmental conditions, but their potential for antibiotic production has not been fully explored. The aim of the study was to examine the distribution and diversity of antibiotic-producing bacteria and actinomycetes in the six sites (A1-A6) of the Saudi Arabian Red Sea. With the help of the sequencing of 16S rRNA genes and bioinformatic analysis, the individual bacterial communities have been identified. The most diverse location was location A5, which had the largest number of antibiotic-producing families, such as  Arcobacteraceae, Vibrionaceae, and Pseudoalteromonadaceae. The relative abundance of the Micrococcaceae was statistically determined, and its presence was constant (ranging between 0.1 and 0.3) at all locations. The findings indicated that there was variability in the potential of producing antibiotics among all the sites, and Location A5 was found to be the most promising site in bioprospecting. Conversely, sites A1 and A4 had moderate antibiotic-producing potentials, with sites A2, A3, and A6 having lesser diversity and having fewer antibiotic-producing bacteria. These results indicate the    exceptional importance of environmental factors in the development of microbial communities and designate Location A5 as a key location to find new antibiotics. The experiment offers information on the microbial biodiversity of the Red Sea and offers a significant source of guidance to future studies on bioprospecting in extreme marine environments.

References

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Citation

This is an open access article distributed under the  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (CC BY-NC) License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 

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