Discovering Potential Bacterium from Soil Samples to Combat Antibiotic Resistance

In microbiology lab we are researching antibiotics and looking for candidates that can combat certain pathogens. Those pathogens include; Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter (these are commonly referred to as the ESKAPE pathogens). These are the most common pathogens that evade antibiotics because of their strong resistance to common antibiotics. In my specific research I have developed 1 candidate (bacteria that can potentially be made into an antibiotic) who combats the Staphylococcus epidermis pathogen, as shown on my agar plates and the zones of inhibition surrounding the specific bacteria. I chose this bacterium because I found that it is the only one of my candidates, which created zones of inhibition and thus have made fresh agar plates to create a pure culture. The pure culture allows me to have plenty of the bacterium to test against the pathogen Staphylococcus aureus yet again. This work is crucial to antibiotic resistance and preventing the depletion of useful antibiotics towards the ESKAPE pathogens. As the pathogens become more resistant towards the current antibiotics, new ones should be set in place to combat the pathogens