Bacteria Producing Antiobiotics
Location
CoLab, OCB 100
Start Date
27-4-2018 1:30 PM
Document Type
Poster
Description
Antibiotic resistance has been called one of the world’s most pressing public health problems. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change in a way that reduces the effectiveness of drugs, chemicals, or other agents designed to cure or prevent infections. After being exposed to antibiotics, sometimes one of the bacteria can survive because it found a way to resist the antibiotic. If even one bacterium becomes resistant to antibiotics, it can then multiply and replace all the bacteria that were killed off. That means the exposure to antibiotics provides selective pressure, making the surviving bacteria more likely to be resistant. Healthy soil is a rich source of bacteria. Research suggests that a significant number of these microbes might produce naturally occurring antibiotic agents that could be used as human medicines. The purpose of this experiment is to find as many possible candidates for bacteria producing antibiotics. The methods used in this experiment consists of analyzing a sample of soil that was taken from a residential backyard. The soil was diluted to make a solution that was less concentrated than the original sample. Possible candidates were determined from the diluted solution, which was then used to create a Master Plate with the purpose of obtaining a pure culture candidate. The colonies were then tested to see if they have a resistance to antibiotics with the technique of screening against gram-positive (Mycobacterium smegmatis) and gram-negative (Escherichia coli) pathogens to see of any zones of inhibition. Through metabolic studies and sequencing to identify an organism, a candidate was found for a bacteria having antibiotic activity.
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Bacteria Producing Antiobiotics
CoLab, OCB 100
Antibiotic resistance has been called one of the world’s most pressing public health problems. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change in a way that reduces the effectiveness of drugs, chemicals, or other agents designed to cure or prevent infections. After being exposed to antibiotics, sometimes one of the bacteria can survive because it found a way to resist the antibiotic. If even one bacterium becomes resistant to antibiotics, it can then multiply and replace all the bacteria that were killed off. That means the exposure to antibiotics provides selective pressure, making the surviving bacteria more likely to be resistant. Healthy soil is a rich source of bacteria. Research suggests that a significant number of these microbes might produce naturally occurring antibiotic agents that could be used as human medicines. The purpose of this experiment is to find as many possible candidates for bacteria producing antibiotics. The methods used in this experiment consists of analyzing a sample of soil that was taken from a residential backyard. The soil was diluted to make a solution that was less concentrated than the original sample. Possible candidates were determined from the diluted solution, which was then used to create a Master Plate with the purpose of obtaining a pure culture candidate. The colonies were then tested to see if they have a resistance to antibiotics with the technique of screening against gram-positive (Mycobacterium smegmatis) and gram-negative (Escherichia coli) pathogens to see of any zones of inhibition. Through metabolic studies and sequencing to identify an organism, a candidate was found for a bacteria having antibiotic activity.
Comments
The faculty supervisor for this project was Melissa Beaty, Biology.