Presence of Ammonia-oxidizing Archaea and Their Influence on Nitrogen Cycling in Ilica Bay, Turkey

Recenlty, the processes of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox), and ammonia oxidation within the domain Archaea, have been recognized as two new links in the global nitrogen cycle. The distribution and ubiquity of marine Archaea an important role in global carbon and nitrogen cycling (Ingalls et al., 2006; Leininger et al., 2006; Wuchter et al.,2006a). However, our knowledge on archaeal distribution in aquatic ecosystem was largely confined to the extreme environments for a long time until DeLong (1992, 1998) revealed the ubiquity of archaea in common marine environments. Despite the great progress, more efforts need to be given to the study of archaeal diversity in the vast oceans and of the variations in the ecological environment from coastal to oceanic waters (Massana et al.,2000). Our studying area which Ilica Bay in Izmir (Turkey) has a lot of thermal springs. The aim of study was to investigate the presence of ammonia-oxidizing Archaea and their roles of nitrogen cycling in marine enviroments.We have not only used the geochemical analyses but also genetic tools. This study will supply knowledge for marine nitrogen cycling to understanding very well, in addition how Archea genes players in the process of anammox in shallow coastal marine environments.