SHORT COMMUNICATION: CULTURABLE BACTERIA POPULATION IN DIFFERENT OIL PALM PEAT SOIL OPERATIONAL ZONES

Abstract

The bacterial community in an ecosystem can contribute to crucial soil ecosystem functions. Different soil variations in a single oil palm tree may lead to the diversity of bacterial populations. Hence, this study aimed to isolate the culturable bacteria from different operational zones in oil palm peat soil. A total of four operational zones, namely Frond Pile (FP), Harvesting Path (HP), Weeded Circle (WC), and Inter Palm Row (IPR) at Sungai Miang, Pekan, Pahang, Malaysia were selected as the sampling plots. The soil samples were cultivated in selective mineral media. The bacterial isolates were obtained by three times repeated series of plating on solid media and grown at 30°C for four days. Results of the 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (16S rRNA) discovery revealed a diverse group of bacteria in groups of Proteobacteria, which were detected in a higher percentage relative to other classes of bacteria. The γ-proteobacteria was the prevalent class of Proteobacteria followed by α-proteobacteria and β-proteobacteria. The highest γ-proteobacteria population was obtained in IPR followed by HP, WC and FP. These diverse Proteobacteria communities at the aforementioned operational zones harboured significant roles in the peat soil ecosystems, which need to be further analysed in future research.