SOIL MICROBIOTA AND IDENTIFICATION OF MICROORGANISMS USING 16S rRNA GENE SEQUENCING BY ILLUMINA MISEQ IN THE HAIL REGION OF SAUDI ARABIA

The microbiota, which refers to the microbial populations, wields significant influence over human and animal immune systems, geochemical nutrient cycles, and the health and productivity of plants. The interplay of these microbes with soil and their natural plant hosts within their ecosystems plays a pivotal role in understanding the development and pathogenic mechanisms of various diseases. Metagenomics has introduced a revolutionary technique for extracting DNA from environmental samples like soil, bypassing the need for culturing these microorganisms. This research primarily concentrated on identifying various bacterial species present in soil samples collected from the Hail region in north-central Saudi Arabia. Our approach involved leveraging 16S rRNA gene-based metagenomics analysis through the Illumina Miseq platform, coupled with the use of the NCBI nucleotide collection. Highly similar sequences underwent rigorous scrutiny via the m, and the obtained sequences were meticulously compared with the query sequences. The examination of over a thousand sequences unveiled that over 95% of these sequences exhibited significant alignment, with a total of 600 sequences corresponding to 100 distinct taxa. These taxa included pathogenic (comprising 35 species), non-pathogenic (comprising 18 species), parasitic (comprising 18 species), and additionally, four unidentified bacterial species. These findings underscore the diversity within the bacterial strains present in the soil, shedding light on the dynamic nature of soil microbiomes. This information not only serves as an indicator of soil health but also holds relevance for understanding plant-related pathogens and identifying beneficial microbes conducive to plant growth. Consequently, the primary objective of this study was to employ innovative molecular techniques in identifying bacterial species that pose a threat to plants. However, further research is imperative to delve deeper into the actual relationship between these isolated bacterial species and their ecological preferences, as well as to ascertain their potential medicinal properties.