Isolation of Antimicrobial Compounds from Soil Microorganisms with an Ichip Technique

Overview

35,000 people die annually in the U.S. from antibiotic resistant infections (Antibiotics/Antimicrobial Resistance, 2021). Efficacy of antibiotics is endangered by rapid emergence of resistant bacteria. One gram of soil contains approximately 60,000 bacterial species, some of which produce antimicrobial compounds (Reid, 2005). Despite abundance of soil bacteria, over 99% can’t be cultured by traditional techniques, causing loss of potential antibiotics (Ling, 2015). This study was conducted to find a way to more efficiently grow microbes from which to isolate antimicrobial compounds. Soil samples were taken from an ephemeral stream. An ichip was constructed from a micropipette tip box with a filter membrane attached to allow nutrient diffusion. A diluted soil sample and agar were dispensed into ichip wells, along with agar-only controls and soil inoculated and agar-only Petri dish controls. This was placed back in soil for 3 weeks of incubation. 65% of ichip wells and 42% of Petri dish surface area exhibited growth and there was no growth on controls. Extracts from isolates were spotted on a lawn of several strains of gram negative and positive bacteria to observe inhibition. The null hypothesis that no microbes would grow was rejected as several different bacterial strains grew. Analysis of antimicrobial production against the gram negative and gram positive bacteria is ongoing. This type of research is essential to help identify isolates that have potential for antibiotic development.

Competition history

• AJAS 2024 Category not listed

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