STUDY ON BACTERIAL DIVERSITY IN KUANTAN ESTUARY, PAHANG

ABSTRACT Bacteria play a major role in the aquatic environment . Environmental parameters do not only influence the size and composition of microbial communities but also their distribution in the water body . Hence , it is very important to study the vertical and spatial distribution of the microbes , with emphasized on physicochemical parameters in order to understand the dynamic of microbial communities . A study on physicochemical parameters and bacterial community will be carried out on November 2008 to January 2009 Kuantan River , Pahang . Temperature salinity , and chlorophyll a will be analysed by Hydrolab

DataSonde 4 Hydrolab DataSonde 5 . Bacterial isolates will identified using API 20E , API STAPH System and DNA Sequencing as well . The identified bacteria will be comprised of pathogenic and non pathogenic bacteria . It is expected that the Kuantan River could show an enormous diversity of bacteria . In addition the physic-chemical parameters of the water body could reveal the existing quality of water for the sustainable development of fisheries resources

Keywords : Microbial communities Vertical and spatial distribution Physicochemical parameters 1 .0 Introduction Microorganisms , numerically and biochemically dominate all inland water habitats . The term `microorganism ' encompasses an extensive and diverse assemblage of organisms , such as bacteria , viruses , protozoa and fungi which exhibit widely different morphological , ecological and physiological characteristics (Surajit et al , 2006 . Microbial diversity constitutes the most extraordinary reservoir of life in the biosphere that people have only just begun to explore and understand Diversity is composed of two elements , which are richness and evenness so that the highest diversity...