Start Date
28-4-2022 9:00 AM
Document Type
Poster
Description
There is a crisis today in healthcare and it is the crisis of human resistance to antibiotics. The research for new forms of antibiotics is falling behind the demand, while new strains of bacterial and viral pathogens are haunting our healthcare professionals and hospitals. As bacterial and viral pathogens invade our cells and infect larger numbers of people, the chance for mutation increases. These mutant pathogens are finding new ways to evade and resist current antibiotics. Addressing this threat requires aggressive action. The Tiny Earth Network (TEN) has stepped in and joined with colleges throughout the United States to encourage students and professors to help uncover new microbial species in soil. For my part in this cause, I have excavated soil from an area in Johnson County and used various methods in an attempt to identify the bacteria present. I have used serial dilution to obtain colony morphology, streak plating to segregate single colonies, various staining techniques to identify cell morphology and other revealing biochemical tests in hopes of identifying the bacteria in my sample. At present, I have narrowed my scope to a bacteria that is Gram negative, non-spore forming, and non- acid fast. I have sent it out for PCR sequencing and will perform other tests before the presentation. Come visit me and find out if I was able to uncover a new, unidentified species capable of resisting life-threatening pathogens!
A Kansas Investigation of Soil for New Microbial Species
There is a crisis today in healthcare and it is the crisis of human resistance to antibiotics. The research for new forms of antibiotics is falling behind the demand, while new strains of bacterial and viral pathogens are haunting our healthcare professionals and hospitals. As bacterial and viral pathogens invade our cells and infect larger numbers of people, the chance for mutation increases. These mutant pathogens are finding new ways to evade and resist current antibiotics. Addressing this threat requires aggressive action. The Tiny Earth Network (TEN) has stepped in and joined with colleges throughout the United States to encourage students and professors to help uncover new microbial species in soil. For my part in this cause, I have excavated soil from an area in Johnson County and used various methods in an attempt to identify the bacteria present. I have used serial dilution to obtain colony morphology, streak plating to segregate single colonies, various staining techniques to identify cell morphology and other revealing biochemical tests in hopes of identifying the bacteria in my sample. At present, I have narrowed my scope to a bacteria that is Gram negative, non-spore forming, and non- acid fast. I have sent it out for PCR sequencing and will perform other tests before the presentation. Come visit me and find out if I was able to uncover a new, unidentified species capable of resisting life-threatening pathogens!
Comments
The faculty mentor for this project was Angela Consani, Biology.