Project:

Effect of human activity level on antibiotic resistance in bacteria

Students:

Julia Hosny, Xiaoying Chen, Sabrina Nurullaeva

Institution:

St. Francis College, Brooklyn

Mentors:

Katsuhiro Kita

Abstract:

Antibiotic resistance poses a major global threat because it can make infections difficult or impossible to treat, leading to prolonged illness, increased healthcare costs, and higher mortality rates. Many antibiotic resistance genes existed long before modern medicine and are naturally present in soil bacteria, particularly those that produce antibiotics to compete with other microbes. This study aims to investigate the environmental reservoirs and evolutionary relationships of antibiotic resistance by isolating antibiotic-producing soil bacteria, identifying them through DNA barcoding.. By comparing soils from environments with high and low levels of human activity, this study will explore how environmental disturbances may influence the distribution and evolutionary relationships of antibiotic-producing bacteria and their resistance genes. Understanding environmental sources of resistance can inform public health strategies and improve awareness of how antibiotic resistance emerges

Poster: