Journal of Environmental Biology

The bacterial population inhabiting a top-ranking High Background Radiation Area: A first-time report

P. Sowptika and G. Anilkumar*   

School of Biosciences and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore-632 014, India

*Corresponding Author Email : ganilkumar@vit.ac.in                  *ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9486-9118

Received: 19.02.2022                                                                                          Revised: 24.05.2022                                                                      Accepted: 02.09.2022

Abstract

Aim: To study the soil bacterial population inhabiting the High Background Radiation Area (HBRA) of Chavara-Neendakara placer deposits, Kerala, India.

Methodology: The study was performed by culture-dependant methods involving isolation and characterization of microbes through plate culturing and sequencing the 16S rDNA primed PCR amplicons.

Results: Histochemical observations and molecular taxonomic studies through BLAST search, multiple sequence alignment of the sequences and SeaView phylogenetic analyses, resulted in identification of 35 bacterial species belonging to 22 genera. Shannon-Simpson diversity-predominance indices, revealed an over-riding presence of Firmicutes (~60%) in the HBRA soil.

Interpretation: The results reveal for the first time, the composition, structure and dynamics of the bacterial population inhabiting an HBRA.

Key words: Chavara-Neendakara placer deposit, Firmicutes, Gini-Simpson Index, High background radiation area, Shannon index

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