Microbiological isolation & identification of thermophilic bacterial strains from hot springs

Geothermal springs host extremophilic microorganisms able to live in extreme environments being abşe to endure high temperatures and flourish in highly acidic or alkaline environments. Among these microorganisms, there are salt tolerant bacteria as well as alkaliphillic and acidophillic bacteria. We aim to visit several locations of hot springs towards the east of Gebze to collect hot springs sample for the isolation and the subsequent identification of these bacteria. This entails a survey study to explore multiple geothermal locations that have been barely studied and retrieve samples for microbial profiling and evaluation of the diversity of extremophilic bacteria. The samples from the survey study will be subject to isolation and identification tests for the characterization of the bacteria. Biochemical microbiology tests will be perfomed including the API strip test and the project will conclude with the identification of the genus (and species) of the bacteria. The sequencing of the 16s ribosomal subunit RNA will also be performed for the confirmation of the bacterial species identified.
Students who have a strong background in microbiology and those who have already taken BIO306 Microbiology are eligible to apply. In addition to BIO 306 those students who have also taken BIO 330 Environmental Plant Biology will will be given preference. Although this project focuses on soil microbiology, students with experience in food micribiology and clinical microbiology are also enocuraged to apply.