Searching for Antibiotic producing Bacteria

Bacteria are single-celled organisms which live in almost all places. In this research project, a search for new antibiotic-producing soil microorganisms was conducted. The sample of soil was collected at a residential backyard, underneath a tree. The soil sample was analyzed using serial dilution, a master plate, antibiotic screening, quadrant streaking, Gram staining, metabolic testing, and DNA sequencing. The purpose of serial dilution was to determine the colony forming units per gram of soil(cfu/g) in order to calculate the most appropriate concentration of the soil antibiotic candidate. Using the dilution plates, twelve candidates were selected to create a master plate for research. Each of the twelve candidates were transferred to plates containing the six safe relatives of the ESKAPE pathogens. These safe relatives are bacteria species are related to highly resistant bacterial organisms: Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baylyi, Pseudomonas putida and Enterobacter aerogenes. One of the candidates was selected using the master plate and then used to create a quadrant streak plate. Gram staining was done and the microscope was found to be Gram negative. Testing will be done to determine the metabolism of the organism and sequencing will be done to identify the organism to the genus level