Discovery of a Novel Antibiotic

Location

CoLab, OCB 100

Start Date

28-4-2017 1:00 PM

End Date

28-4-2017 2:45 PM

Document Type

Poster

Description

The main purpose of this study is to find a new antibiotic. We are focusing on pathogens that are multiple drug resistant; Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter, and Mycobacterium. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change in a way that reduces the effectiveness of antibiotics that are designed to cure infections, and antibiotic resistance is becoming a more prevalent problem in the world today. Diseases that were recently treatable are now causing people to die. The pace of antibiotic discovery is not keeping up with the rapid evolution of resistance to microbes. Bacteria that live in the soil are a major source of antibiotic compounds, so this is where our samples were obtained. My soil sample was taken from the garden in my backyard in Overland Park, Kansas. The sample of soil I obtained is unique and has potential to harbor bacteria that will make a new antibiotic because my neighborhood was built on farmland. The land is well-maintained and fertilized. So far in my studies, I have two potential candidates that are single-species colonies of bacteria from my sample that created a zone of inhibition with Mycobacterium smegmatis. I will continue to study the isolates of bacteria, and I hope to find a novel antibiotic to resolve the ongoing issue of the diminishing supply of effective antibiotics.

Comments

The faculty supervisor on this project is Heather Seitz, Biology.

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Apr 28th, 1:00 PM Apr 28th, 2:45 PM

Discovery of a Novel Antibiotic

CoLab, OCB 100

The main purpose of this study is to find a new antibiotic. We are focusing on pathogens that are multiple drug resistant; Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter, and Mycobacterium. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change in a way that reduces the effectiveness of antibiotics that are designed to cure infections, and antibiotic resistance is becoming a more prevalent problem in the world today. Diseases that were recently treatable are now causing people to die. The pace of antibiotic discovery is not keeping up with the rapid evolution of resistance to microbes. Bacteria that live in the soil are a major source of antibiotic compounds, so this is where our samples were obtained. My soil sample was taken from the garden in my backyard in Overland Park, Kansas. The sample of soil I obtained is unique and has potential to harbor bacteria that will make a new antibiotic because my neighborhood was built on farmland. The land is well-maintained and fertilized. So far in my studies, I have two potential candidates that are single-species colonies of bacteria from my sample that created a zone of inhibition with Mycobacterium smegmatis. I will continue to study the isolates of bacteria, and I hope to find a novel antibiotic to resolve the ongoing issue of the diminishing supply of effective antibiotics.