This study provided bacterial phylogeny and physiology, together with physicochemical parameters of isolation area. This combination was very helpful to understand the biogeochemical structure of the area and also geographical and environmental effects on bacterial diversity and characteristics. Highly diverse bacteria were isolated when the scarcity of phylogenetic studies in Turkish marine environment was considered. While five stations in Aegean Sea were found optimum for high bacterial diversity in both lower and higher taxa compared to coastal sediments having higher diversity in higher taxa and deep-basins in Eastern Mediterranean Sea having higher diversity in lower taxa. N limitation in the study area and protein utilization rather than carbohydrates were obtained from the physicochemical data and the enzymatic activity results. The highest antibiotic resistance was also found from the coastal sediments. When the geographical and environmental effects were considered, it was concluded that all those data highlighted the biogeochemical patterns in Eastern Mediterranean Sea and explained the reasons of variations among all stations.

She was born in Turkey, 1980. She received BSc degrees in chemistry and genetics from Bogazici University, Turkey, MSc degree in marine sciences from University of Wales, UK and PhD degree in marine sciences from Dokuz Eylul University, Turkey. Her current reseach interests are marine environment, microbiology, phylogeny, species-area relationship.