An Analysis of Antibiotic-Producing Bacteria from Soil at UWEC

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance is a growing crisis in the medical field. In the U.S alone 23,000 people die per year from once easily treated infections. This number is only expected to grow due to the rapid acquisition of modes of resistance to commonly used antibiotics. This problem is not only propagated from the misuse of antibiotics in the health care system, but additionally from the heavy use of antibiotics in agriculture and consumer products. Most antibiotics are discovered as molecules secreted naturally by bacteria and reason bacteria secrete these molecules is still up for debate. However, since the discovery of penicillin, the first antibiotic, screening bacteria in natural systems has been the most promising model in discovering novel antibiotics.