Seasonal Profiling of Bacterial Diversity in Balneological Mud Using MALDI-TOF MS: Public Health Implications from Burguç Mineral Spring (Türkiye)
Natural and Engineering Sciences, cilt.11, sa.2, ss.288-299, 2026 (Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 11 Sayı: 2
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.28978/nesciences.262025
- Dergi Adı: Natural and Engineering Sciences
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Scopus
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.288-299
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Balneological mud, Health tourism, MALDI-TOF MS, Microbial ecology, Peloid
- Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
- Akdeniz Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Identification of bacterial communities in thermal mud is critical for evaluating microbiological safety in balneological applications, particularly in health tourism contexts where peloid is directly applied to the human body. Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) provides a rapid, cost-effective approach for environmental microbial profiling. In this study, bacterial diversity of balneological mud was characterized across four seasons (April, July, October, December) at the Burguç mineral spring (Demre, Antalya, Türkiye) using MALDI-TOF MS. From 120 bacterial isolates yielding 200 colonies, 19 distinct species were identified. Species richness varied markedly by season, ranging from 2 species in summer to 10 in autumn. Alpha-diversity analysis confirmed autumn as the most diverse season (Shannon H′=2.27), while Pielou's evenness remained high across all seasons (J=0.97-0.99), indicating no single taxon dominated the recovered communities. Several taxa of potential clinical relevance were detected, including Aeromonas spp., Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Bacillus cereus, and Citrobacter freundii. These findings support the need for systematic microbiological surveillance of mineral spring sites used in health tourism.