Algerian Sahara’s Chott: Study and Characterization

Abstract

Sebkhas, chotts, saline soils, etc. represent the hypersaline environments, and are typical examples of severe environments harboring a very intriguing microbial flora. In this regard, this paper aims to characterize the bacteria in the waters of the chott of An El-Beida in the region of Ouargla (South of Algeria). The pH of the water samples tested ranges from 6.6 to 8.39, the water is neutral to alkaline, the temperature ranges from 8 to 10 degrees Celsius, and the electrical conductivity ranges from 2.4 to 6 ds/m, showing extremely saline water. These qualities allowed us to choose a microflora that is particular to this environment. The microbiological analysis of these samples identified fifteen isolated strains, with bacterial densities ranging from 0.27 104 to 2.236 104, including the species Escherichia coli 2, Flavobacterium meningosepticum, Shigella sp., and Aeromonas salmonicida. This may help to explain the richness of water in this ecosystem by a variety of significant microflora. Our research on NaCl tolerance has shown that some isolated strains of euryhaline bacteria can withstand a NaCl concentration of up to 35%. The strain (S8) demonstrated a substantial antifungal capacity in the antagonist test, which can be attributed to the fact that it is highly competitive with Aspergillus carbonarius and Penicillium sp. This particular extreme ecosystem's microbial research was effective since we were able to identify a sizable amount of specific microbial diversity.