Isolation and molecular characterization of non-Azotobacter bacteria using Azotobacter isolation protocols from pastures in the south of Turkey
 
 Ebru ÇELEN 
 ORCID: 0000-0002-8452-5933
 
 Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts and Science, Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University, Gölköy, 14280 Bolu, Türkiye
 
 Abstract
 Soil is a biodiversity-rich ecosystem. Nitrogen-fixing Azotobacter bacteria, an important component of this ecosystem, are frequently isolated using various methods. The aim of the present study was to perform partial molecular characterization of non-Azotobacter isolates derived during two Azotobacter isolation protocols, as well as to determine which bacteria can be obtained using this method. A total of 800 isolates were acquired from soil samples collected from various pastures in Antalya province of Turkey, with 92 of them being molecularly characterized. These isolates were clustered through RFLP analysis of 16S rRNA gene and the DNA sequences of the isolates representing different groups were performed. According to these results, the bacteria belonging to various genera (Agrobacterium, Phyllobacterium, Variovorax, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Agromyces, and Arthrobacter) were identified. The results show that similar bacteria could be obtained through two isolation protocols used in this study. However, more diverse bacteria were encountered on the Brown-medium than on soil-past.
 Keywords: Azotobacter, isolate, soil, 16S rDNA
 
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