Antibiotic Resistance in Alkaline Thriving Organisms
Department
Biological Sciences
Major
Biological Sciences
Research Advisor
Mormile, Melanie R.
Advisor's Department
Biological Sciences
Funding Source
Dr. Melanie Mormile
Abstract
Soap Lake, in Washington State, is a meromictic, soda lake. Previously, it was noted that many bacterial isolates from the lake possessed resistance to multiple antibiotics. One possible explanation for the wide range of antibacterial resistance exhibited by these isolates is due to the impact of high alkalinity on the antibiotics themselves and not necessarily due to the presence of antibiotic resistance conferring genes. The aim of our study is to determine the effects antibiotics have on bacterial cultures capable of growth over a wide range of pH values, 7-11, to investigate the influence of pH on antibiotic activity. Five pure cultures capable of growing over a wide range of pH values were isolated from Soap Lake sediment. These strains were inoculated on agar plates with a pH set at 9. Fifteen selected antibiotics were placed individually on a plate in disk form. The zone of inhibition was recorded for each antibiotic tested. The zone of inhibition for several antibiotics was found to remain rather constant across the five isolates. Several antibiotics were ineffective against the isolates. Some antibiotics that were very effective against the isolates. The observable zones of inhibition in alkaline conditions seem to indicate that the high number of antibiotic resistances seen in Soap Lake may be the cause of resistance genes rather to the effects of alkalinity on the antibiotics.
Biography
Ethan Hamilton is a junior at Missouri University of Science and Technology and is working on a major in Biology. He is currently doing undergraduate research in Melanie Mormile’s lab. In his free time Ethan likes playing video games as well as reading and hiking. Ethan plans on attending graduate school to pursue a degree in Microbial Genetics.
Research Category
Sciences
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Document Type
Poster
Location
Upper Atrium/Hall
Presentation Date
16 Apr 2014, 9:00 am - 11:45 am
Antibiotic Resistance in Alkaline Thriving Organisms
Upper Atrium/Hall
Soap Lake, in Washington State, is a meromictic, soda lake. Previously, it was noted that many bacterial isolates from the lake possessed resistance to multiple antibiotics. One possible explanation for the wide range of antibacterial resistance exhibited by these isolates is due to the impact of high alkalinity on the antibiotics themselves and not necessarily due to the presence of antibiotic resistance conferring genes. The aim of our study is to determine the effects antibiotics have on bacterial cultures capable of growth over a wide range of pH values, 7-11, to investigate the influence of pH on antibiotic activity. Five pure cultures capable of growing over a wide range of pH values were isolated from Soap Lake sediment. These strains were inoculated on agar plates with a pH set at 9. Fifteen selected antibiotics were placed individually on a plate in disk form. The zone of inhibition was recorded for each antibiotic tested. The zone of inhibition for several antibiotics was found to remain rather constant across the five isolates. Several antibiotics were ineffective against the isolates. Some antibiotics that were very effective against the isolates. The observable zones of inhibition in alkaline conditions seem to indicate that the high number of antibiotic resistances seen in Soap Lake may be the cause of resistance genes rather to the effects of alkalinity on the antibiotics.
