Isolation, Identification and Distribution of Culturable Bacteria in Manasbal Lake, Kashmir Himalaya

Bacteria comprise an important part of the aquatic microbial flora and perform myriad of ecological roles in aquatic ecosystems. Yet the bacteriological studies on aquatic ecosystems are scarce, especially in the Himalayan context. The main objective of present study was to assess the bacteriologica...

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Published in:National Academy of Sciences, India. Proceedings. Section B. Biological Sciences India. Proceedings. Section B. Biological Sciences, 2017-03, Vol.87 (1), p.115-120
Main Authors: Shafi, Sana, Kamili, Azra N., Shah, Manzoor A., Bandh, Suhaib A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavioral Sciences
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Ecology
Ecosystems
Life Sciences
Nucleic Acid Chemistry
Plant Biochemistry
Research Article
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Summary:Bacteria comprise an important part of the aquatic microbial flora and perform myriad of ecological roles in aquatic ecosystems. Yet the bacteriological studies on aquatic ecosystems are scarce, especially in the Himalayan context. The main objective of present study was to assess the bacteriological composition of Manasbal lake, the deepest freshwater lake of Kashmir Himalayas, in relation to anthropogenic pressures. The authors measured abundance of the culturable bacteria in lake waters from March to December 2011 using culture based approaches. A total of 1391 different colonies of the identified bacterial strains were obtained from the lake waters with significant site specific variability. The data indicated that the colony number was highest for site II (surrounded by residential hamlets) followed by site I (an irrigational stream) and III (Central site) and lowest for site IV (Outlet). The strains were identified using the gram’s staining, motility test and biochemical tests. Data revealed a highest percentage occurrence of 14.67 % for Proteus II and lowest of 0.21 % for Shigella I. This study indicated the need for development of a feasible system with regular assessment of microbial population for ascertaining the proper microbial load in order to effectively combat the multiple dangers of anthropogenic pollution of the lake.
ISSN:0369-8211
2250-1746
DOI:10.1007/s40011-015-0582-1