Abstract
Nova Southeastern University (NSU) faculty and students are collaborating with Yale University to discover novel antibiotics produced by soil dwelling microorganisms. Pathogens responsible for many hospital-acquired infections are increasingly resistant to several antibiotics, driving the need for novel antibiotics. Antibiotic producing microorganisms present in soils should change with the concentrations of nutrients found in the soil or interstitial water in soils. To test this hypothesis, we screened for bacteria in samples from nutrient-poor soils in Davie and nutrient-rich soils in storm water treatment areas (STAs) in the Everglades. Soil samples were obtained, serially diluted and then plated on different media. Microorganisms isolated from the plates were subject to various biochemical tests. Antibiotic screening techniques were performed to identify isolates demonstrating production of antimicrobial agents. Isolates were tested for antibiotic production against tester strains to observe colony interactions. Those that presented a zone of inhibition were further characterized via polymerase chain reaction of the 16S rRNA gene of the bacteria followed by a Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) analysis. BLAST finds regions of local similarity between sequences and helps identify members of bacterial gene families. Of the organisms identified in Davie soils, five organisms tested positive for antibiotic production against the tester strains; results indicate that these organisms were most closely related to the Pseudomonas and Bacillus genera. Future and ongoing studies include chemical extraction of the microbial antibiotic. Further characterization of the antimicrobial compound(s) and comparison of organisms isolated from the two different sites is currently being conducted.
Faculty Sponsors
Aarti Raja, Ph.D., Paul Baldauf, Ph.D.
Project Type
Event
Location
Alvin Sherman Library
Start Date
4-10-2015 1:00 PM
End Date
4-10-2015 5:30 PM
A Comparative Study of Microorganism Populations from Storm Water Treatment Areas and Select South Florida Locations
Alvin Sherman Library
Nova Southeastern University (NSU) faculty and students are collaborating with Yale University to discover novel antibiotics produced by soil dwelling microorganisms. Pathogens responsible for many hospital-acquired infections are increasingly resistant to several antibiotics, driving the need for novel antibiotics. Antibiotic producing microorganisms present in soils should change with the concentrations of nutrients found in the soil or interstitial water in soils. To test this hypothesis, we screened for bacteria in samples from nutrient-poor soils in Davie and nutrient-rich soils in storm water treatment areas (STAs) in the Everglades. Soil samples were obtained, serially diluted and then plated on different media. Microorganisms isolated from the plates were subject to various biochemical tests. Antibiotic screening techniques were performed to identify isolates demonstrating production of antimicrobial agents. Isolates were tested for antibiotic production against tester strains to observe colony interactions. Those that presented a zone of inhibition were further characterized via polymerase chain reaction of the 16S rRNA gene of the bacteria followed by a Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) analysis. BLAST finds regions of local similarity between sequences and helps identify members of bacterial gene families. Of the organisms identified in Davie soils, five organisms tested positive for antibiotic production against the tester strains; results indicate that these organisms were most closely related to the Pseudomonas and Bacillus genera. Future and ongoing studies include chemical extraction of the microbial antibiotic. Further characterization of the antimicrobial compound(s) and comparison of organisms isolated from the two different sites is currently being conducted.
