A Search for Antimicrobial Activity in Backyard Soil
Location
CoLab, OCB 100
Start Date
27-4-2018 10:30 AM
Document Type
Poster
Description
The increasing incidence of antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria, along with the lack of efficient development of new antibiotics together creates a modern medical crisis. The medical community is in desperate need of research to discover new antibiotics that will be effective against resistant strains of bacteria. Approximately 60% of antibiotics currently in use were originally discovered in soil bacteria; it’s highly likely other new antibiotics are waiting to be discovered literally in our own backyards. This experiment aims to analyze soil organisms for antimicrobial properties in soil organisms. This is accomplished through obtaining a soil sample, serial dilution of the sample, and culturing of organisms found in the soil which seem to hold potential for antimicrobial activity. In the soil sample studied, about 18 potential candidates were isolated. Upon further study, four of them showed promise for possible antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive organisms. These were further cultured and tested and will be sequenced in order to determine its genetic identity. We project that one of the organisms isolated from the soil sample will show possibility of antimicrobial action upon further analysis.
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A Search for Antimicrobial Activity in Backyard Soil
CoLab, OCB 100
The increasing incidence of antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria, along with the lack of efficient development of new antibiotics together creates a modern medical crisis. The medical community is in desperate need of research to discover new antibiotics that will be effective against resistant strains of bacteria. Approximately 60% of antibiotics currently in use were originally discovered in soil bacteria; it’s highly likely other new antibiotics are waiting to be discovered literally in our own backyards. This experiment aims to analyze soil organisms for antimicrobial properties in soil organisms. This is accomplished through obtaining a soil sample, serial dilution of the sample, and culturing of organisms found in the soil which seem to hold potential for antimicrobial activity. In the soil sample studied, about 18 potential candidates were isolated. Upon further study, four of them showed promise for possible antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive organisms. These were further cultured and tested and will be sequenced in order to determine its genetic identity. We project that one of the organisms isolated from the soil sample will show possibility of antimicrobial action upon further analysis.
Comments
The faculty supervisor for this project was Melissa Beaty, Biology.