Antimicrobial Resistance: What’s Growing In Our Own Backyards
Abstract
The purpose of our project Small Worlds Tiny Earth is to show us that potential antibiotics are
right in our own backyards. Many antibiotics are derived from bacteria living soil. During our
project, we collected soil from holes six inches deep on the grounds surrounding the Penn State
Schuylkill campus. We did a serial dilution with our soil, so we could see specific colonies of
bacteria. Then we selected colonies that showed antibiotic potential and then tested them against
Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus epidermis bacterial strains to see if our specimen was able
to fight off those bacteria. We did tests to characterize the bacteria, including gram staining to
see if the bacteria were gram positive, gram negative, or gram variable. We also did
characterization tests including: Endo, EMB, MAC agar, MSA, two starch tests, milk agar tests,
DNASE, and blood agar. Also, we did more slant tests and broth tests such as citrate agar,
nutrient agar, gelatin, MRVP, nitrate broth, phenol red lactose broth, phenol red glucose, phenol
red sucrose and phenol red fructose. All these tests help to narrow down the potential identity of
the specific bacterium used, but despite our efforts and experimentation, we are unable to
determine an exact species with the current situation.
Poster
Micro poster project final copy
Presentation
For Marleigh’s presentation, please download the poster file and view under slide show to hear her speech.
Mini Bio
My name is Marleigh Cressley and I’m twenty-one years old. I’m in my fourth semester at Penn State Schuylkill, and I’m currently earning credits for a degree in nursing. I’ve really enjoyed the content of Ms. Smith’s microbiology course and how it is related to my career. Taking care of others has been a passion of mine for a long time. When I was eighteen, I got my CNA license and have been working in healthcare ever since. I hope to one day to be a registered nurse and work in gynecology or labor and delivery.