Isolation and Sequencing of Antibiotic-Producing Bacteria
Major
Biology
Submission Type
Poster
Area of Study or Work
Biology
Expected Graduation Date
2025
Location
CNS Atrium, Easel 9
Start Date
4-15-2023 9:00 AM
End Date
4-15-2023 10:15 AM
Abstract
The discovery of antibiotics has been an extremely important contribution that is integral to medicine today. It was once thought as being able to cure even the most stubborn of sicknesses; however, prescribing them when they aren’t needed or using them when without a doctor’s permission can negatively impact the bacterial communities living in our bodies. When antibiotics are taken without a proper diagnosis and taken too frequently, resistance is naturally selected for making the medication ineffective. By finding new types of bacteria and studying how they respond to different environments and the kinds of antibiotics they produce, we can add to a growing library of research that can help future discoveries of novel antibiotics. In this work, soil and leaf samples were collected from a garden in Normal, Illinois. Samples were swabbed and transferred to 10% TSA and Actinomycete Isolation Agar plates and allowed to incubate for 5 days at 25°C . Diverse colonies from each set of plates were then grown separately and tested against important pathogens, collectively known as the ESKAPE pathogens. Antibiotic production was identified by creation of a ring of growth inhibition. Four isolates that produce this zone of inhibition were then chosen to continue with further testing. They were identified by 16s rRNA sequencing and further characterized by microscopy. By going through this process and identifying the kinds of bacteria that were studied, these results will be a part of a growing database of antibiotic-producing bacteria.
Isolation and Sequencing of Antibiotic-Producing Bacteria
CNS Atrium, Easel 9
The discovery of antibiotics has been an extremely important contribution that is integral to medicine today. It was once thought as being able to cure even the most stubborn of sicknesses; however, prescribing them when they aren’t needed or using them when without a doctor’s permission can negatively impact the bacterial communities living in our bodies. When antibiotics are taken without a proper diagnosis and taken too frequently, resistance is naturally selected for making the medication ineffective. By finding new types of bacteria and studying how they respond to different environments and the kinds of antibiotics they produce, we can add to a growing library of research that can help future discoveries of novel antibiotics. In this work, soil and leaf samples were collected from a garden in Normal, Illinois. Samples were swabbed and transferred to 10% TSA and Actinomycete Isolation Agar plates and allowed to incubate for 5 days at 25°C . Diverse colonies from each set of plates were then grown separately and tested against important pathogens, collectively known as the ESKAPE pathogens. Antibiotic production was identified by creation of a ring of growth inhibition. Four isolates that produce this zone of inhibition were then chosen to continue with further testing. They were identified by 16s rRNA sequencing and further characterized by microscopy. By going through this process and identifying the kinds of bacteria that were studied, these results will be a part of a growing database of antibiotic-producing bacteria.