Microbial Load of Lake Van under pH and Salt Stress

Abstract

Alkaline environments are rare habitats on earth that result from a combination of geological, geographical and climatic conditions. Therefore, their livings are often unique. This study investigated the effects of different growth conditions on the cultivable sediment microorganisms of Lake Van. Aerobic, alkaliphilic microorganisms were cultivated from sediment samples collected in the autumn season, December 2018 from alkaline Lake Van, Türkiye, having pH 9.7. The total number of microorganisms in the sediment samples was found to be 105 cfu g-1. Different pH and salt conditions were designed to examine the effect of stress. As a result, it has been shown that the number of microorganisms decreases in the presence of high salt concentrations and high and neutral pH values.

Keywords

• Microbial Ecology of Lakes
• Soda Lakes
• Lake Van
• pH Stress
• Salt Stress

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