Author(s)

Nabiha Aloui^1*, Chaima Mehalli²

¹Process Engineering Laboratory, Faculty of Nature and Life Sciences, University Kasdi Merbah Ouargla, Ouargla, Algeria.
²Faculty of Nature and Life Sciences, University Kasdi Merbah Ouargla, Ouargla, Algeria.

Hypersaline environments, represented by the chotts, the Sebkhas and the saline soils, etc., are a typical example of extreme environment harboring a particularly interesting microbial flara. In this context, the aim of this word is to try to make a characterization of the bacteria in the waters of the chott of Aïn El-Beida in the region of Ouargla (South Algeria). The water samples taken are characterized by a pH between 6.6 and 8.39, the water is neutral to alkaline water, with a temperature between 8˚C to 10˚C, and an electrical conductivity between 2.4 to 6 ds/m reflecting extremely salty water. These characteristics enabled us to select a microflora specific to this environment. The microbiological analsis of these samples revealed fifteen isolated strains, including the following species: Escherichia coli 2, Flavobacterium meningosepticum, Shigella sp, Aeromonas salmonicida, with a bacterial density that varied between 0.27 × 104 to 2.236 × 104, which may explain why the water in this ecosystem is rich in specific important microflora. The results of NaCl tolerance have revealed to us that certain isolated strains tolerate a NaCl concentration up to 35%, these are euryhaline bacteria. With regard to the antagonist test, the strains (S8) have a strong antifungal capacity, which can be explained by the fact that latter has a significant competitive power against Aspergillus carbonarius and Penicillium sp. The microbial exploration of this specific extreme ecosystem proved successful, as we were able to detect significant specific microbial diversity.

Waters, Characterization, Bacteria, Chott, South of Algeria

Aloui, N. and Mehalli, C. (2022) Characterization of Some Bacteria in the Waters of Chott of Aïn El-Beida in the South of Algeria. Open Journal of Ecology, 12, 604-613. doi: 10.4236/oje.2022.129034.