Discovery of New Antibiotics in the Soil
Location
CoLab, OCB 100
Start Date
28-4-2017 1:00 PM
End Date
28-4-2017 2:45 PM
Document Type
Poster
Description
Antibiotics are the superheroes of modern medicine. Since their discovery, we no longer have to fear or even think twice about illnesses that have destroyed lives for centuries. However, in recent years, the number of bacteria that are resistant to most known antibiotics has increased at alarming rates, necessitating the discovery of new antibiotics. We call these highly antibiotic resistant bacteria ESKAPE pathogens. This name represents the six most antibiotic resistant bacteria that now pose a threat to humanity. In my research, I took a sample of soil from a relatively unknown park by the Kansas River, where I frequently hunt for mushrooms. I thought this would be good soil to test due to it being a low traffic area, and one with unique environmental factors. I found several bacterial colonies that produced antibiotics after being cultured on agar. However, after screening them individually against several ESKAPE pathogen relatives, I found that one bacteria inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli. I hope that this bacteria will provide us with a previously undiscovered antibiotic which can be used in the constant fight against antibiotic resistant bacterial infections.
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Discovery of New Antibiotics in the Soil
CoLab, OCB 100
Antibiotics are the superheroes of modern medicine. Since their discovery, we no longer have to fear or even think twice about illnesses that have destroyed lives for centuries. However, in recent years, the number of bacteria that are resistant to most known antibiotics has increased at alarming rates, necessitating the discovery of new antibiotics. We call these highly antibiotic resistant bacteria ESKAPE pathogens. This name represents the six most antibiotic resistant bacteria that now pose a threat to humanity. In my research, I took a sample of soil from a relatively unknown park by the Kansas River, where I frequently hunt for mushrooms. I thought this would be good soil to test due to it being a low traffic area, and one with unique environmental factors. I found several bacterial colonies that produced antibiotics after being cultured on agar. However, after screening them individually against several ESKAPE pathogen relatives, I found that one bacteria inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli. I hope that this bacteria will provide us with a previously undiscovered antibiotic which can be used in the constant fight against antibiotic resistant bacterial infections.
Comments
The faculty supervisor on this project is Heather Seitz, Biology.