Meeting Abstract
P2.39 Jan. 5 Isolation of Antibiotics Producing Bacteria from Soil samples collected in Brooklyn NY MITCHELL, R*; KINLOCK, B; BOLNET, C; Medgar Evers College; Medgar Evers College; Medgar Evers College roger_onlyxx@hotmail.com
Soil bacteria belonging to the genus Streptomyces, are well known as producers of antibiotics in commercial and medical use. However, because a large number of disease causing bacteria have become resistant to many of the antibiotics now in frequent use, many research studies are now aimed at isolating new strains of these antibiotic producing bacteria. In this study, we focus on isolating Streptomyces from soil obtained from 4 different areas in Brooklyn: Manhattan Beach (MB), Coney Island Beach (CIB) Downstate (DS) and Prospect Park.(PP). Soil samples were dried , diluted, inoculated on selective media for Streptomycetes and incubated at 28 degree Celsius for 7-15 days. Cultures from CIB soil displayed the most bacterial density and diversity . Interestingly, these cultures were also found to have three colonies of bacteria showing signs of antibiosis against Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. The characteristic of these colonies strongly suggest that they belong to the genus Streptomyces . Gram staining revealed that they are Gram positive, filamentous, rod-like shaped and spore producers which confirm the presence of Streptomyces. Physiological tests were performed to compare the substrate utilization patterns of our isolates to the controls. Our results indicate that one bacterium is of the genus Streptomyces, while the other two could not be accurately identified by the tests used and are therefore unknown. DNA was extracted from each isolate and a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) to amplify the 16S rRNA gene was performed successfully as indicated by the size of the amplicons in the electrophoresis gel. We are currently in the process of sequencing the PCR products to access the novelty of the isolates to known Streptomyces/Actinomycetes database. In conclusion, our results indicated the presence of antibiotic producers in one of the 4 areas in Brooklyn.
