Honors Thesis Archive
| Author | Rachel Boyette |
|---|---|
| Title | Model Development and Investigation of Antibiotic Cross Resistance and Decay in E. Coli |
| Department | Biochemistry/Molecular Biology |
| Advisor | Daniel Marous |
| Year | 2022 |
| Honors | University Honors |
| Full Text | View Thesis (380 KB) |
| Abstract | Antibiotic resistance in bacteria is becoming a significant concern, originating from the increased amount of antibiotics prescribed by doctors and patients failing to complete their course of treatment. Resistant bacteria are quickly adapting to new forms of antibiotics and are becoming more deadly. Based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2019 estimate, in the United States approximately 2.8 million antibiotic resistant infections occur each year and about 90,000 deaths can be attributed to bacterial infections1. Therefore, it is essential that high school and undergraduate students interested in going into the medical field are introduced to the idea of antibiotic resistance. Several different methods of growing resistance to kanamycin and ampicillin in E. coli were created and tested to provide a laboratory experience to students at an introductory chemistry level. Multiple procedures were created using either solid or liquid medium, however, the most practical and successful procedure involved growing resistance in liquid medium in a single flask, which was left to grow over the course of a week. Additionally, the ability for already resistant strains to lose their inherent resistance was also tested through continually propagating cultures in liquid medium without antibiotic. It was found that, through this method, kanamycin resistance in E. coli could be lost in about three weeks or less. |
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