Phenotypic features and molecular study of airborne species isolated in the northern part of the Persian Gulf, Bushehr, Iran.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The main environmental saprobes, such as , play an essential role in natural ecosystems as economically, ecologically, and medically important microorganisms. Biodiversity of this genus has not been described in Bushehr city, Iran. The present study is based on air biodiversity of species on culture-dependent approach and culture-independent technique using partial b-tubulin sequences.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

By using active sampling with a high volume air sampler, a total of 157 isolates were selected and screened for phenotypic characters. For the purposes of the study, 46 strains representative of 11 morphological species were selected and identified by molecular analysis.

RESULTS

Based on the findings, (18 isolates, 39.1%) and (15 isolates, 32.6%) were the most common isolated species, followed by , , , (each 2 isolates, 4.3%), , , , , and (each 1 isolate, 2.1%). Except for and with floccose colony texture, the rest of the isolated species had velutinous texture.

CONCLUSION

This is the first report in southern Iran to identify a large number of strains isolated from air samples, showing and as the most common isolated species.