1st PROJECT
As part of the 3rd Turkish Antarctic Expedition, the project “Studies on Psychrophilic and Psychrotolerant Microorganisms Degrading Herbicides (Dalapon and Bromoxynil) by Genomic Analyses” was conducted at two different research laboratories which were Ondokuz Mayıs University Agricultural Faculty Agricultural Biotechnology Laboratory and (Plant Protection) Bacteriology Laboratory and Amasya University Central Research Laboratory.
The project was coordinated by the Faculty Member Dr. Yılmaz KAYA from Ondokuz Mayıs University Agricultural Faculty Agricultural Biotechnology Department; and the researchers were Assoc. Prof. Hasan Murat AKSOY from Ondokuz Mayıs University Agricultural Faculty Plant Protection Department and Dr. Sevgi MARAKLI from Amasya University Central Research Laboratory.
The samples of the study that took around one year were collected from Antarctica by Prof. Ersan BAŞAR.
With this project, two different bacteria species were discovered. As a tribute to the leader of the 3rd Turkish Antarctic Expedition Assoc. Prof. Burcu ÖZSOY, the discovered bacteria species were named “Psychrobacter sp. strain TaeBurcu001” and “Psychrobacter sp. strain TaeBurcu002”.
Other results of the project:
- As a first in Turkey, a master’s thesis on “Isolation and Characterization of Dalapon Herbicide-degrading Bacteria from Antarctic Samples” was completed successfully by Mr. Süleyman Faruk KIRKINCI.
- The project results were presented orally in one national and one international workshop and conference. The project outputs have been sent for publication to SCI/SCI-exp indexed
2nd PROJECT
As part of the Turkish Arctic Scientific Expedition in 2019, a project named “Screening of Bacteria Producing Dehalogenase from Extremophiles in the Arctic” was conducted at two different research laboratories which were Ondokuz Mayıs University Agricultural Faculty Agricultural Biotechnology Laboratory and Phytopathology Laboratory and Amasya University Central Research Laboratory.
The project coordinator was Assoc. Prof. Sevgi MARAKLI, and the researchers were Assoc. Prof. Hasan Murat AKSOY and the faculty member Dr. Yılmaz KAYA.
With this project, a new bacterial species was discovered. With reference to the First National Arctic Expedition and the expedition leader Assoc. Prof. Burcu ÖZSOY, the new species was named “Psychrobacter sp. strain TaseBurcu001”.
Molecular and genetic studies of the project are still in progress.
What Has Been Discovered? What Is Its Use?
The samples from the Galindez Island of Antarctica and Svalbard Island of the Arctic were subjected to various biochemical and genetic analyses.
The bacteria obtained for the first time were registered to gene bank with the names “Psychrobacter sp. strain TaeBurcu001” and “Psychrobacter sp. strain TaseBurcu001”.
The discovered bacteria were proved to eliminate the harmful effects of herbicides used in agriculture and having side effects. These bacteria have potential uses in agricultural biotechnology and sustainable agriculture applications. In addition, their potential uses in environmental biotechnology are also under scrutiny.
Ongoing Studies
The studies on the samples obtained continue at Ondokuz Mayıs University Agricultural Faculty Plant Protection & Bacteriology Laboratories; in this sense, a master’s thesis in this field was completed successfully, and the topic stands as an interesting subject matter for many other master’s degree students.
The samples were also shared with Prof. Didem ÖZÇİMEN, faculty member of Yıldız Technical University Bioengineering Department, with a view to enhancing common benefits.
Prof. ÖZÇİMEN conducts algal biotechnology studies on the Antarctic and Arctic samples.
Bioinformatic and genomic studies on the new bacteria named “Psychrobacter sp. strain TaeBurcu001” and “Psychrobacter sp. strain TaseBurcu001” have been going on.
