Analysis of a Soil Sample for Antibiotic Properties

I retrieved my soil from Heritage Park by the playground. I picked this soil because it would potentially have bacteria children commonly carry on them. To find antibiotics in this soil I first put the soil through the dilution process. This made bacteria grow on the agar plates. As I diluted the soil and grew bacteria I watched for zones of inhibition. This is when bacteria secretes an antibiotic to keep other bacteria from touching the colony. When I found twenty different types of bacteria that had an inhibition zone I made a master plate of all of them. Next, I tested for antibiotics by using the Eskape relatives. I tested all the of the Eskape relatives by making a straight line down the middle of the agar plate and adding bacteria to the sides of it to where they touch. If they don’t touch after the bacteria has had a day to grow, then the bacteria are producing an antibiotic. None of the bacteria I grew from my playground soil produced an antibiotic. Although I do find it interesting most of the bacteria I grew were cloudy and yellow or orange and sticky. I don’t think I picked a good soil sample because the bacteria weren’t as diverse as I thought