Location
Culp Ballroom
Start Date
4-7-2022 9:00 AM
End Date
4-7-2022 12:00 PM
Poster Number
120
Faculty Sponsor’s Department
Health Sciences
Name of Project's Faculty Sponsor
Sean Fox
Competition Type
Competitive
Type
Poster Presentation
Project's Category
Microbiology
Abstract or Artist's Statement
The rapid expansion of medical discoveries has been met with growing number of deaths from nosocomial multidrug-resistant bacteria. The dramatic rise of these antibiotic-resistant microorganisms has been placed on the World Health Organization’s watchlist as one of the biggest threats to the future of healthcare. There continues to be a shortage of effective antibiotics with the rise of these “superbugs”. With the growing number of deadly pathogens, the future of medicine relies on scientific findings of novel compounds to combat multidrug-resistant bacteria. The Appalachian Highlands Region holds the potential for discovering these new compounds. As the most biodiverse temperate forest region in North America, the Smoky Mountains contains a plethora of microorganisms that have become genetically diversified over millions of years. In order to compete with one another, many of these soil bacteria naturally produce their own antibiotics. With the wide variation of natural bacteria, Appalachia serves as a testing ground to harness the power of natural antibiotics and understand how these compounds can aide in clinic use. A gram of soil contains more than 10,000 different species of bacteria. The biodiversity of these microbes is still largely unknown, as almost 99% of these species cannot be cultured in a normal lab setting. Utilizing the 16S genomic region of microbes, this pilot project will lay the foundations of discovering Appalachia’s microbiome, which has, thus far, never been cataloged.
Charting the Microbiome Biodiversity of the Appalachian Highlands Region: A Novel Study
Culp Ballroom
The rapid expansion of medical discoveries has been met with growing number of deaths from nosocomial multidrug-resistant bacteria. The dramatic rise of these antibiotic-resistant microorganisms has been placed on the World Health Organization’s watchlist as one of the biggest threats to the future of healthcare. There continues to be a shortage of effective antibiotics with the rise of these “superbugs”. With the growing number of deadly pathogens, the future of medicine relies on scientific findings of novel compounds to combat multidrug-resistant bacteria. The Appalachian Highlands Region holds the potential for discovering these new compounds. As the most biodiverse temperate forest region in North America, the Smoky Mountains contains a plethora of microorganisms that have become genetically diversified over millions of years. In order to compete with one another, many of these soil bacteria naturally produce their own antibiotics. With the wide variation of natural bacteria, Appalachia serves as a testing ground to harness the power of natural antibiotics and understand how these compounds can aide in clinic use. A gram of soil contains more than 10,000 different species of bacteria. The biodiversity of these microbes is still largely unknown, as almost 99% of these species cannot be cultured in a normal lab setting. Utilizing the 16S genomic region of microbes, this pilot project will lay the foundations of discovering Appalachia’s microbiome, which has, thus far, never been cataloged.