Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi sciencebuddies,
I will be conducting an experiment that involved testing on bacteria for antibiotic resistance. How would I get my hands on bacteria? Should I purchase it or grow it?
Thanks
rominafili

Hello!

To test antibiotic resistance, it would be best for you to obtain a sample that is entirely pure in species. Though you can perhaps swab with a q-tip surfaces in your home/school, I would recommend buying it or requesting it. Perhaps there are microbiology labs at universities around you that you can email and just ask for a small sample. Otherwise, you can go to Carolina to buy them:

http://www.carolina.com/living-organism ... 3ACultures

Do you also have the necessary materials/supplies such as agarose plates, inoculators, etc?

Tell me if you have any questions!

-crystalball

Hi there,

I agree with the previous expert that it is recommended to obtain a sample that is entirely pure in species. This is because if you swab surfaces around home/school with a q-tip, sure you can get bacteria, but you have no idea what the composition of your sample is, and certainly some bacteria in the sample could be more resistant to certain antibiotics compared to other bacteria in the same sample, making your results harder to interpret. I would suggest checking local microbiology labs as well to see if they can give you a small sample. Otherwise, Carolina would be a great place to buy them. Again, like the previous expert mentioned, make sure you have the appropriate broth, nutrient agar plates, inoculators, and incubators to grow the bacteria. Depending on which bacteria you use, their growth conditions may be different, so make sure you obtain all the necessary materials before starting the experiment! If you want something that is very easy to maintain and grow and doesn't require very stringent biosafety requirements to work with, I would suggest using E. coli to start with. If you have any questions as you're trying to decide which species to use and which antibiotics to use, feel free to post back and we'll be glad to help you brainstorm.

Best,
Connie