More than Just Dirt: Discovery of Antibiotic Producing Bacteria in Penn State Schuylkill’s Soils
I’ve got my bacteria
Abstract
When we began MICRO107 in January, no one thought we would end it with the current situation of the world. However, this situation makes it easier to bring to light the need for new antibiotics and ways to cure superbugs, as well as how quickly microbes can grow. Though our project is not working with viruses, the project can have the potential to influence how bacterial infections are treated. With our project, we are working with two different programs that use us, college students, to help find new antibiotics – the Tiny Earth Program and the Small World Initiative. Soil samples were collected on a rainy day in February, serial diluted, and then placed on an agar plate to grow. From dilutions, bacterial with potential antibiotic production were chosen and later pick-and-patching tests were performed to be able to find what would be the best bacteria to choose from. We have also performed other biochemical and nutrient tests to help determine the identity of our bacteria, but without the DNA testing that was halted thanks to the pandemic, the ultimate species identification is not currently known.
Poster
Presentation
cherapan micro 107 presentation
For Ashley’s Presentation, please download the above file, put into slide show and press the play button in the center of the page.
Mini Bio
My name is Ashley Cherapan. I am a junior here at PSU-Schuylkill. I will be graduating in the fall with my Associates degree in HDFS and then it’s back to nursing school for my RN. I’ve been an LPN for four years, so I’m ready for the small role change with more supervisory roles to it. I’m incredibly sad that we had to move our projects online but sometimes you’ve just got to roll with the punches!