Start Date
27-4-2023 12:00 PM
Document Type
Poster
Description
Antibiotic resistance continues to make a growing number of infections harder to treat. Drug resistance in bacteria and mortality rates related to these complications are rising every year, and little is being done to stop it. In our economic system, researching treatments for this issue is unprofitable, and therefore uncommon. The projected risks of this situation are staggering, so students such as myself are taking on the task of researching possible antibiotic candidates found in soil. In this Microbiology lab class, I tested a soil sample that I collected against six safer relatives of bacterial strains that pose large threats in clinical settings. These dangerous pathogens are referred to as ESKAPE Pathogens, including Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumonia, Acinobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and various Enterobacter species. The safe relative species that were chosen to use to screen for potential antibiotic candidates in this lab were Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escheria coli, Acinetobacter baylyi, Pseudomonas putida, and Enterobacter aerogenes. I tested 10 potential candidates that I found in my soil sample that showed possible inhibition of other bacteria against these tester trains. Only one of my potential antibiotic candidates showed inhibition of a tester strain, so I continued testing and researching with another student’s candidate that they chose not to proceed with. This candidate showed inhibition of the ESKAPE safe relative Enterococcus faecalis. This candidate will be put through more testing to determine whether or not it could become the next antibiotic drug that saves lives in this developing crisis.
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Potential Antibiotic Search in Your Backyard
Antibiotic resistance continues to make a growing number of infections harder to treat. Drug resistance in bacteria and mortality rates related to these complications are rising every year, and little is being done to stop it. In our economic system, researching treatments for this issue is unprofitable, and therefore uncommon. The projected risks of this situation are staggering, so students such as myself are taking on the task of researching possible antibiotic candidates found in soil. In this Microbiology lab class, I tested a soil sample that I collected against six safer relatives of bacterial strains that pose large threats in clinical settings. These dangerous pathogens are referred to as ESKAPE Pathogens, including Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumonia, Acinobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and various Enterobacter species. The safe relative species that were chosen to use to screen for potential antibiotic candidates in this lab were Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escheria coli, Acinetobacter baylyi, Pseudomonas putida, and Enterobacter aerogenes. I tested 10 potential candidates that I found in my soil sample that showed possible inhibition of other bacteria against these tester trains. Only one of my potential antibiotic candidates showed inhibition of a tester strain, so I continued testing and researching with another student’s candidate that they chose not to proceed with. This candidate showed inhibition of the ESKAPE safe relative Enterococcus faecalis. This candidate will be put through more testing to determine whether or not it could become the next antibiotic drug that saves lives in this developing crisis.
Comments
The faculty mentor for this project was Heather Seitz, Biology.