Penicillin Resistance in Soil Microbes

The purpose of this experiment was to see if soil microbes would develop an antibiotic resistance and how much of a resistance the microbes would develop over many generations of growth. The antibiotic used was Penicillin. Soil bacteria was collected and allowed to incubate for 48 hours on a starter plate. The bacteria was then transferred to a plate with Penicillin disks on it and allowed to incubate for another 48 hours. This was repeated for five generations, using the bacteria that grew closest to the Penicillin disks (bacteria on the very edge of the zone of inhibition) and transferring them to a new plate. The soil microbes did in fact develop an antibiotic resistance to the Penicillin and the zone of inhibition decreased by more than half.

Research Done By:

Charlie Scicluna
L'Anse Creuse High School North

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