Discovering Potential Bacteria in Soil Samples to Create New Antibiotics Towards the Fight Against Antibiotic Resistance

Location

CoLab, OCB 100

Start Date

28-4-2017 11:00 AM

End Date

28-4-2017 12:45 PM

Document Type

Poster

Description

Antibiotic resistance is widespread problem that is continuing to affect millions of people worldwide. With each day that passes, numerous people are dying because bacteria are becoming “smarter” against each antibiotic that is created. Throughout this data, the goal is to hopefully discover an antibiotic capable of inhibiting a certain strand of bacteria, and in turn, combat antibiotic resistance. This specific collection of bacterial data is unique in the way that it has been collected from soil prone to high animal traffic. After diluting the sample of dirt through a process of serial dilutions, the diversity of bacteria was determined. The solution was taken at various concentrations and plated on agar media. A patch plate was then created from individual colonies possessing a ring around them; these colonies would then undergo a proof plating technique to identify zones of inhibition that resembled a potential candidate. Lastly, streak plates were made of the candidates to obtain a pure culture for further testing. In the current stages of research, three different candidates have shown signs of inhibiting two main pathogens of antibiotic resistance. One has shown an inhibition towards Staphylococcus epidermidis, and two others inhibited Enterococcus faecalis. Ideally, these three candidates will continue to show signs of battling the pathogens and be sent to labs for further research. Because bacteria are growing and advancing with each day that passes, the science community must also use our resources to advance our methods to try to keep up with the growing resistance of antibiotics.

Comments

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

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Apr 28th, 11:00 AM Apr 28th, 12:45 PM

Discovering Potential Bacteria in Soil Samples to Create New Antibiotics Towards the Fight Against Antibiotic Resistance

CoLab, OCB 100

Antibiotic resistance is widespread problem that is continuing to affect millions of people worldwide. With each day that passes, numerous people are dying because bacteria are becoming “smarter” against each antibiotic that is created. Throughout this data, the goal is to hopefully discover an antibiotic capable of inhibiting a certain strand of bacteria, and in turn, combat antibiotic resistance. This specific collection of bacterial data is unique in the way that it has been collected from soil prone to high animal traffic. After diluting the sample of dirt through a process of serial dilutions, the diversity of bacteria was determined. The solution was taken at various concentrations and plated on agar media. A patch plate was then created from individual colonies possessing a ring around them; these colonies would then undergo a proof plating technique to identify zones of inhibition that resembled a potential candidate. Lastly, streak plates were made of the candidates to obtain a pure culture for further testing. In the current stages of research, three different candidates have shown signs of inhibiting two main pathogens of antibiotic resistance. One has shown an inhibition towards Staphylococcus epidermidis, and two others inhibited Enterococcus faecalis. Ideally, these three candidates will continue to show signs of battling the pathogens and be sent to labs for further research. Because bacteria are growing and advancing with each day that passes, the science community must also use our resources to advance our methods to try to keep up with the growing resistance of antibiotics.