Abstract

Microbial populations form the basis of ecological systems, and exist in nearly all environments. A water sample from Lake Michigan was collected and analyzed for the presence of microbial species. Initially conducted as a part of a laboratory course, the goal of the project was to identify freshwater microbial species, using laboratory and sequencing techniques, and test the identified microbes for antibiotic production. Three bacterial species were isolated and analyzed: Blew, Perp, and Phil. Each microbe produced antibiotics against a laboratory strain of known bacteria. The 16S rRNA and BioLog analysis of all three unknown bacteria were used to identify each bacterial species. However, <99% identity levels require further testing to confirm bacterial identities (Janda & Abbott, 2007). Antimicrobial production was observed on plates of known bacteria: Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Blew produced antimicrobials against E. coli. The filamentous growth of Phil requires additional testing to observe antimicrobial growth. Identified antimicrobials can be further tested against other known bacteria. Future goals include the isolation of the antimicrobials and identifying their structure.