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A simple method for measuring antibiotic resistance in a community of bacteria

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Date Issued:
2014
Summary:
Antibiotic resistant bacteria infiltrate drinking water, increase human exposure, and spread into clinical settings. Regulatory agencies need simple test for ARI to monitor environmental quality. This study is first to measure resistance in a consortium of bacteria, not pure cultures. Our rapid method – “In-the-zone” (ITZ) employs a) the size of zones of inhibition b) identity of bacteria in the zone c) number of resistant clones within zones of inhibition and d) type of antibiotic to compute ARI. Results can be obtained within 24 - 48 hrs with very little effort. This semester, we repeated the test and validated the weighting of various parameters. The ITZ assay yield consistent and reproducible data on zones of inhibition of bacteria community. The diameter of inhibition zones was the most important parameter distinguishing resistomes of varying ARI. Landfill, manured garden, and waste plant samples scored highest in antibiotic resistance index compared to beach sand.
Title: A simple method for measuring antibiotic resistance in a community of bacteria.
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Name(s): Pelski, Ana
Samaroo, Sheynelle
Varughese, Vipin
Behr, Evalena
Browne, Trisha
Esiobu, Nwadiuto
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Poster
Date Issued: 2014
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library
Physical Form: Online Resource
Extent: 1 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: Antibiotic resistant bacteria infiltrate drinking water, increase human exposure, and spread into clinical settings. Regulatory agencies need simple test for ARI to monitor environmental quality. This study is first to measure resistance in a consortium of bacteria, not pure cultures. Our rapid method – “In-the-zone” (ITZ) employs a) the size of zones of inhibition b) identity of bacteria in the zone c) number of resistant clones within zones of inhibition and d) type of antibiotic to compute ARI. Results can be obtained within 24 - 48 hrs with very little effort. This semester, we repeated the test and validated the weighting of various parameters. The ITZ assay yield consistent and reproducible data on zones of inhibition of bacteria community. The diameter of inhibition zones was the most important parameter distinguishing resistomes of varying ARI. Landfill, manured garden, and waste plant samples scored highest in antibiotic resistance index compared to beach sand.
Identifier: FA0005034 (IID)
Subject(s): College students --Research --United States.
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA0005034
Host Institution: FAU