TY - JOUR
T1 - Microbial community of cyanobacteria mats in the intertidal zone of oil-polluted coast of Saudi Arabia
AU - Al-Thukair, A. A.
AU - Abed, R. M.M.
AU - Mohamed, L.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors wish to acknowledge the support of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Special thanks are due to Mr. Abdulsali Saji and Mr. Said Mohammed Ali for their valuable help in the field.
PY - 2007/2
Y1 - 2007/2
N2 - Cyanobacterial mats are found at various locations along the coast of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Those mats were affected by severe oil pollution following 1991 oil spill. In this study, samples from Abu Ali Island were collected at three selected sampling sites across the intertidal zone (Lower, Middle, and Upper) in order to understand the effect of extreme environmental conditions of high salinity, temperature and desiccation on distribution of cyanobacteria along the oil polluted intertidal zone. Our investigation of composition of cyanobacteria and diatoms was carried out using light microscopy, and Denaturant Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) technique. Light microscopy identification revealed dominant cyanobacteria to be affiliated with genera Phormidium, Microcoleus, and Schizothrix, and to a lesser extent with Oscillatoria, Halothece, and various diatom species. The analysis of DGGE of PCR-amplified 16S rRNA fragments showed that the diversity of cyanobacteria decreases as we proceed from the lower to the upper intertidal zone. Accordingly, the tidal regime, salinity, elevated ambient air temperature, and desiccation periods have a great influence on the distribution of cyanobacterial community in the oil polluted intertidal zone of Abu Ali Island.
AB - Cyanobacterial mats are found at various locations along the coast of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Those mats were affected by severe oil pollution following 1991 oil spill. In this study, samples from Abu Ali Island were collected at three selected sampling sites across the intertidal zone (Lower, Middle, and Upper) in order to understand the effect of extreme environmental conditions of high salinity, temperature and desiccation on distribution of cyanobacteria along the oil polluted intertidal zone. Our investigation of composition of cyanobacteria and diatoms was carried out using light microscopy, and Denaturant Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) technique. Light microscopy identification revealed dominant cyanobacteria to be affiliated with genera Phormidium, Microcoleus, and Schizothrix, and to a lesser extent with Oscillatoria, Halothece, and various diatom species. The analysis of DGGE of PCR-amplified 16S rRNA fragments showed that the diversity of cyanobacteria decreases as we proceed from the lower to the upper intertidal zone. Accordingly, the tidal regime, salinity, elevated ambient air temperature, and desiccation periods have a great influence on the distribution of cyanobacterial community in the oil polluted intertidal zone of Abu Ali Island.
KW - Cyanobacteria mats
KW - Microbial community
KW - Oil pollution
KW - Saudi Arabia
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U2 - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2006.08.043
DO - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2006.08.043
M3 - Article
C2 - 17045306
AN - SCOPUS:33846641262
SN - 0025-326X
VL - 54
SP - 173
EP - 179
JO - Marine Pollution Bulletin
JF - Marine Pollution Bulletin
IS - 2
ER -