Soil Bacteria Against Pathogens
Location
CoLab, COM 161
Start Date
30-4-2026 9:30 AM
Document Type
Poster
Description
This project focuses on finding potential for antibiotics from bacteria in soil. There was a golden age of antibiotic discovery that started with the discovery of penicillin in 1928, then peaked in the 1950s with the discovery of many new drugs. However, bacterial pathogens evolve and develop resistance against antibiotics, making them more difficult to fight against in the human body. This in combination with the lack of new antibiotics being discovered, there aren’t many antibiotics being introduced in the market. In this project, I took soil from my backyard, diluted it, and grew bacterial colonies that were found in the soil. I selected some of these colonies and tested 12 of them against safe relatives of very harmful pathogens, such as Staphylococcus aureus, and have found a few candidates that could be helpful in antibiotic research. The candidate that I have chosen inhibits 6/8 pathogens tested.
Image
Soil Bacteria Against Pathogens
CoLab, COM 161
This project focuses on finding potential for antibiotics from bacteria in soil. There was a golden age of antibiotic discovery that started with the discovery of penicillin in 1928, then peaked in the 1950s with the discovery of many new drugs. However, bacterial pathogens evolve and develop resistance against antibiotics, making them more difficult to fight against in the human body. This in combination with the lack of new antibiotics being discovered, there aren’t many antibiotics being introduced in the market. In this project, I took soil from my backyard, diluted it, and grew bacterial colonies that were found in the soil. I selected some of these colonies and tested 12 of them against safe relatives of very harmful pathogens, such as Staphylococcus aureus, and have found a few candidates that could be helpful in antibiotic research. The candidate that I have chosen inhibits 6/8 pathogens tested.
Comments
The faculty mentor for this project was Jamie Cunningham.