The Secret Life of Bacteria
Location
CoLab, OCB 100
Start Date
27-4-2018 12:00 PM
Document Type
Poster
Description
There is a growing problem of pathogenic bacteria becoming more and more antibiotic resistant. With this growing issue, it is becoming difficult to treat patients that could have some sort of bacterial infection and not having medication that could safely eradicate the pathogen from the body. There have been plenty of positive results using bacteria from soil samples collected around the world. These samples can help us discover new bacteria that could hold antibiotic properties so that we could then use as medication. I identified a candidate bacterium that displays some antibiotic properties; they seem to display a zone of inhibition that would keep competing bacteria away from their area. Using PCR and gram staining, we would then be able to identify what the bacterium could possibly be, or even see if we have discovered a new bacterium. I have tested this specific bacterium against some of the close relatives of the ESKAPE pathogens, which are pathogenic bacteria that have developed some sort of antibiotic resistance. There has been a growing concern when trying to treat patients whenever they are infected with these specific pathogens. I will discuss how this bacterium might not be able to get rid of the tester strains, but can be useful in helping treat other potential pathogenic bacteria that could be present in the human body.
Image
The Secret Life of Bacteria
CoLab, OCB 100
There is a growing problem of pathogenic bacteria becoming more and more antibiotic resistant. With this growing issue, it is becoming difficult to treat patients that could have some sort of bacterial infection and not having medication that could safely eradicate the pathogen from the body. There have been plenty of positive results using bacteria from soil samples collected around the world. These samples can help us discover new bacteria that could hold antibiotic properties so that we could then use as medication. I identified a candidate bacterium that displays some antibiotic properties; they seem to display a zone of inhibition that would keep competing bacteria away from their area. Using PCR and gram staining, we would then be able to identify what the bacterium could possibly be, or even see if we have discovered a new bacterium. I have tested this specific bacterium against some of the close relatives of the ESKAPE pathogens, which are pathogenic bacteria that have developed some sort of antibiotic resistance. There has been a growing concern when trying to treat patients whenever they are infected with these specific pathogens. I will discuss how this bacterium might not be able to get rid of the tester strains, but can be useful in helping treat other potential pathogenic bacteria that could be present in the human body.
Comments
The faculty supervisor for this project was Jon Kniss, Biology.