Submission Date

7-22-2022

Document Type

Paper- Restricted to Campus Access

Department

Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Faculty Mentor

Anthony Lobo

Comments

Presented during the 24th Annual Summer Fellows Symposium, July 22, 2022 at Ursinus College.

Project Description

This project analyzes a ciprofloxacin-resistant transconjugant (CRT34) to further understand the mechanism of antibiotic resistance exhibited by the bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli). 16S ribosomal DNA sequencing of CRT34, the ciprofloxacin-resistant coliform 34 (CRC34, the original sewage isolate), and XL10-Gold laboratory strain confirm that CRT34 was formed through conjugative plasmid transfer from CRC34 to the well-understood XL10-Gold strain of E. coli. Previous results had suggested that ciprofloxacin resistance was due to the efflux pump encoded by the genes oqxAB, which is responsible for transporting many toxic substances including antibiotics out of the cell. To confirm whether this specific pump was present, we isolated the plasmid and used oqxAB PCR primers, but were unable to detect the presence of the oqxAB efflux pump. In collaboration with Dr. Mark Ellison’s lab, we are also analyzing the resistance of CRT34 to ciprofloxacin-conjugated carbon nanotubes that we believe may allow the antibiotic to stay in the cell and hinder bacterial growth.

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