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BACTERIAL DIVERSITY IN AGRICULTURAL BACTERIAL DIVERSITY IN AGRICULTURAL FIELDS AND DESERTS FIELDS AND DESERTS FARWA SARWAT FARWA SARWAT , UZMA BADAR AND NUZHAT AHMED , UZMA BADAR AND NUZHAT AHMED CENTRE FOR MOLECULAR GENETICS, UNIVERSITY OF KARACHI, KARACHI-75270 CENTRE FOR MOLECULAR GENETICS, UNIVERSITY OF KARACHI, KARACHI-75270 INTRODUCTION Bacteria have been on the earth 2 to 3 billion years longer than any other life. They are one of the most diverse life forms on earth and may consist of more than one million species. Only a fraction of these species have been identified, even fewer have been studied and are available in culture collection centers. The bacterial diversity of the earth is important but still untapped and unknown resource of the planet and so is the bacterial diversity of Sindh Agricultural fields and Deserts (Fig 1) which is showing the Agro-Ecological Zones of Sindh which needs to be discovered for its hidden bacterial treasure. BENEFECIAL BACTERIA AND THEIR ROLE IN AGRICULTURE Bacteria have many beneficial role in Agriculture (Table2) as they are important bioagents for the control of pest and diseases (Table3) and are also involve in phosphate solubilization (Table 1). LIFE EXIST IN DESERTS Scientists have also found life in the driest places of the Earth such as Atacama Desert (Figures 2 and 3) and in Death Valley, California (Figure 4). Not only they survive in such areas but also give color to the desert (Figure5). OBJECTIVES This poster addresses future plans for comparative study and cataloguing of bacteria of desert and agricultural areas of Sindh. As it is known that most arid desert lands support life. In view of this it is predicted that these may have the bacteria which are able to survive under extreme conditions and support plant growth. There are chances to have novel; diversified bacterial communities which shall be identified and preserved. It is also proposed to study their diversity with respect to selected characters (antibacterial activity, solubilization and bioabsorbent biopolymer) and at molecular level of bacterial genome (DNA fingerprinting), as bacterial genomes are extremely dynamic and mosaic in nature. These properties could lateron be used for improving fertility of MAPPING BACTERIAL DIVERSITY IN MAPPING BACTERIAL DIVERSITY IN ATACAMA DESERT, CHILE PROJECT TITLE : PROJECT TITLE : Mapping Mapping Bacterial Diversity in Bacterial Diversity in Sindh Agricultural Fields Sindh Agricultural Fields and Deserts: At molecular and Deserts: At molecular level level The Atacama desert is one of the driest places on Earth. Scientists are searching for traces of microorganisms in this extreme environment. Credit: Carnegie Mellon University Figure 3: Graph showing counts of culturable soil bacteria (cfu) per gram of dry soil sampled at 20 to 30 cm depth along 4500-m and a 1200-m elevational transects in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile Figure 1: Figure 1: AGRO-ECOLOGIAL ZONES AGRO-ECOLOGIAL ZONES OF SINDH OF SINDH By KateRuder Posted:November14,2003 By KateRuder Posted:November14,2003 GNN News GNN News AlertsNews by Topic Extremophiles AlertsNews by Topic Extremophiles A new species of A new species of Deinococcus Deinococcus bacteria has been discovered in the bacteria has been discovered in the Atacama Desert in Chile. Atacama Desert in Chile. The newly found microbe is The newly found microbe is resistant to high doses of radiation as resistant to high doses of radiation as its cousin its cousin Deinococcus radiodurans Deinococcus radiodurans is, says is, says Fred A. Rainey of Louisiana State Fred A. Rainey of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, a member of the University in Baton Rouge, a member of the research team. research team. Figure 4 : Bacterial diversity in desert varnish from the western region of DeathValley,California . Table 2: BENEFECIAL MICROBES AND THEIR ROLE IN AGRICULTURE Figure 5: DESERT VARNISH & LICHEN CRUST MICROSCOPIC ORGANISMS COLOR DESERT ROCKS Table 1: Occurrence of phosphate solubilizing organisms Table3: Important bioagent for the control of pest and diseases Figure 2
