BACTERIAL DIVERSITY ON MICROPLASTIC SAMPLES COLLECTED FROM THE BARENTS SEA

In the study conducted within the scope of the Third National Arctic Scientific Expedition (TASE-III), bacterial diversity was examined in microplastics collected from the Barents Sea using a manta trawl net. The microplastics were incubated in 400 mL of Luria-Bertani Broth at 150 rpm for one day. After incubation, the broth was passed through 0.22 µm filter papers using a membrane filtration technique and they were placed on media as R2A Agar, Aeromonas Agar Base, Cetrimide Agar, Actinomycete Selection Agar, Thiosulfate Citrate Bile Source, Sulphate Reducing Bacteria Agar, Zobell Marine Agar. Then they were incubated at temperatures between 4°C and 30°C for 24 to 72 hours. Purified colonies were stored in 20% skim milk at -20°C. To determine the species of the isolates, bacterial DNA was initially extracted. The extracted DNA was amplified using universal primers 27F and 1492R. The PCR products, measuring approximately 1400 to 1600 bp, were confirmed through visualisation on a 2% agarose gel electrophoresis. These PCR products were subsequently sequenced via Sanger sequencing through a service provider. The gene sequences were then identified at the species level using BLAST analysis. In conclusion, Bacillus, Stenotrophomonas, Sutcliffiella, Psychrobacter, Micrococcus, Acinetobacter, Enterococcus, Priestia, Pseudomonas, Planococcus, Exiguobacterium, Desemzia, Staphylococcus, Kocuria, Mammaliicoccus, Microbacterium bacteria genera were found. This study was supported by the TUBITAK KUTUP 1001 Project, numbered 122G270. The authors thank TUBITAK for their support.