Front Lawn Soil Sample Leads to Possible Antibiotic
Start Date
27-4-2023 10:30 AM
Document Type
Poster
Description
Microscopic organisms result in serious sickness and death for millions of people everyday. To combat the serious consequences of one type of microscopic organism, bacteria; scientists have developed antibiotics. The first known antibiotic, penicillin, was developed in a high concentration form from mold growing on a piece fruit. After this discovery, scientist turned to using an environment rich in microbes, soil. Some bacteria from the soil produce substances that inhibit the growth of other bacteria; these are the bacteria we are looking for. Although there have been many discoveries of new antibiotics from these microbes living in the soil; the past 40 years of research has lead to few new antibiotics. The lack of new antibiotics and resistance to the current known antibiotics has lead to an urgency to find more. To aid the discovery of more antibiotics, Tiny Earth Network has partnered with Johnson County Community College microbiology labs to discover more bacteria producing antibiotics. This partnership led to the discovery of “Krsna 11” from a soil sample collected in the front yard of a church in Kansas City, MO. “Krsna 11” can inhibit two types of bacteria similar to two types of ESKAPE pathogens, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus epidermidis, meaning it can possibly lead to the production of a new antibiotic. Further testing is needed to establish its viability as an antibiotic.
Image
Front Lawn Soil Sample Leads to Possible Antibiotic
Microscopic organisms result in serious sickness and death for millions of people everyday. To combat the serious consequences of one type of microscopic organism, bacteria; scientists have developed antibiotics. The first known antibiotic, penicillin, was developed in a high concentration form from mold growing on a piece fruit. After this discovery, scientist turned to using an environment rich in microbes, soil. Some bacteria from the soil produce substances that inhibit the growth of other bacteria; these are the bacteria we are looking for. Although there have been many discoveries of new antibiotics from these microbes living in the soil; the past 40 years of research has lead to few new antibiotics. The lack of new antibiotics and resistance to the current known antibiotics has lead to an urgency to find more. To aid the discovery of more antibiotics, Tiny Earth Network has partnered with Johnson County Community College microbiology labs to discover more bacteria producing antibiotics. This partnership led to the discovery of “Krsna 11” from a soil sample collected in the front yard of a church in Kansas City, MO. “Krsna 11” can inhibit two types of bacteria similar to two types of ESKAPE pathogens, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus epidermidis, meaning it can possibly lead to the production of a new antibiotic. Further testing is needed to establish its viability as an antibiotic.
Comments
The faculty mentor for this project was Jamie Cunningham, Biology.