Spatial-temporal variations and diversity of the bacterioplankton communities in the coastal waters of Kuwait

The dynamics and composition of the bacterial community in the coastal waters of Kuwait are poorly understood. In this study, the spatial-temporal variations in the bacterial composition in the surface water along the Kuwaiti coast was examined by 16S rRNA denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) fingerprinting and phylogeny analyses. The sampling sites were Kuwait Bay, Al-Sabbiya (north of the bay) and Al-Khairan (to the south). The bacterial composition was more variable in the summer for all sites. A cluster analysis of the DGGE fingerprint revealed two main clusters, indicating a temporal similarity between sites. Kuwait Bay and Al-Khairan were more similar to each other than to Al-Sabbiya. The bacterial community composition exhibited distinctive spatial variations, with more diversity at Al-Khairan and less diversity at Al-Sabbiya. At all sites, the dominant bacteria were Alphaproteobacteria, in particular Rhodobacteraceae, followed by Alteromonadaceae (Gammaproteobacteria) and Bacteroidetes.