Abstract
Due to the misuse and overuse of antibiotics, the number and species diversity of multi-drug resistant bacteria continues to rise. To fight this growing threat, new methods for discovering novel antibiotics must be developed. Natural products produced by microorganisms continue to be a robust source of novel antibiotics; however, a rudimentary method that can screen natural sources accurately and efficiently has yet to be established. Current methods for screening bacterial libraries for antibiotic production are either highly complex or inefficient and prone to error. Herein, a rapid and robust high-throughput liquid culture screening method for antibiotic production by bacteria is described, which has the ability to screen both single and multi-culture mixtures of bacteria in vitro. Over 300 bacterial species were screened in monoculture, and 12% and 15% were found to produce antibiotics capable of ≥30% growth inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus or Escherichia coli respectively.
How to Cite
Murray, E., (2018) “Development and Evaluation of a High-Throughput Screening Method for Bacterial Antibiotic Production”, Capstone, The UNC Asheville Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship 31(1).
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