Small World Initiative (D5B)
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 Small World Initiative (D5B) is a project in search of potential antibiotics from bacteria found in soil. Currently, there is lack of new antibiotics , and the current ones have resistant strains that cause them to be defective in treating patients. This project is inspired by the ongoing Small World initiative efforts in coming up with new antibiotics from dirt/soil which in it resides a plethora of unknown microbes. Soil sample collected from dirt at a preferred location. Dirt is then sampled via serial dilutions in order isolate bacteria. Upon isolation of bacteria, master plates of potential candidates are made and testing is done in lab using safe relative tester strains. Tester strains indicate inhibition or lack thereof of potential candidates then after narrowing down a promising candidate; PCR testing is done to that particular colony of bacteria. Dirt sample was found in a nature preserve in Stanley KS, under a tree. Coordinates were as follows; latitude 38.8322, longitude -94.6374. Type of dirt sample collected was peaty and loam soil on February 16th 2017. Upon testing against safe relative, potential candidate D5B was streak plated and a colony from the streak plated used in the PCR testing. D5B seems to inhibit Bacillus megaterium, clearly shows zones of inhibition. “Bacillus megaterium is a gram positive, endospore forming, rod shaped bacteria. It is considered aerobic”. B. megaterium is found in soil, and is considered non-pathogenic. In the future, more testing can run against gram positive safe lab relative tester strains in hopes of discovering new antibiotics.
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Small World Initiative (D5B)
CoLab, OCB 100
The Small World Initiative (D5B) is a project in search of potential antibiotics from bacteria found in soil. Currently, there is lack of new antibiotics , and the current ones have resistant strains that cause them to be defective in treating patients. This project is inspired by the ongoing Small World initiative efforts in coming up with new antibiotics from dirt/soil which in it resides a plethora of unknown microbes. Soil sample collected from dirt at a preferred location. Dirt is then sampled via serial dilutions in order isolate bacteria. Upon isolation of bacteria, master plates of potential candidates are made and testing is done in lab using safe relative tester strains. Tester strains indicate inhibition or lack thereof of potential candidates then after narrowing down a promising candidate; PCR testing is done to that particular colony of bacteria. Dirt sample was found in a nature preserve in Stanley KS, under a tree. Coordinates were as follows; latitude 38.8322, longitude -94.6374. Type of dirt sample collected was peaty and loam soil on February 16th 2017. Upon testing against safe relative, potential candidate D5B was streak plated and a colony from the streak plated used in the PCR testing. D5B seems to inhibit Bacillus megaterium, clearly shows zones of inhibition. “Bacillus megaterium is a gram positive, endospore forming, rod shaped bacteria. It is considered aerobic”. B. megaterium is found in soil, and is considered non-pathogenic. In the future, more testing can run against gram positive safe lab relative tester strains in hopes of discovering new antibiotics.
Comments
The faculty supervisor on this project is Jamie Cunningham, Biology.