Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hello. I'm testing the effect of natural antibiotics on bacterial resistance. I'm thinking about applying the natural antibiotics on antibiotic resistant bacteria. What kind of bacteria could I order? And would I be able to get it off amazon cheaply?
Lastly, do you know anywhere I could find past experiment's results on the same topic that would be posted online? I want to get an idea of the procedure of the project and find something I can compare results to in my science fair papers.
Thank you!

Hi Anna,

You have to be very careful when it comes to dealing with diseases that are antibiotic resistant and highly infectious. You can't order antibiotic resistant bacteria online. If you were to conduct the experiment at your school, there is the possibility that the disease could spread throughout your school.

Highly infectious diseases could only be handled through a regulated research laboratory, in which extreme safety precautions are taken. In that case you still might not have access to handling the bacteria.

You still may pursue that, but you should talk to your science teacher about having your school order much safer simple bacteria. You could put them in petri dishes and add some natural antibiotics and observe the changes. Here is a link to a website which contains some information on natural antibiotics http://www.flu-treatments.com/natural-antibiotics.html.

The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair has a database of abstracts of projects that have been done since 1999. You can search through the database and look at projects in Microbiology and Medicine and Health Sciences. You will definitely be able to find projects that involve highly infectious diseases.

You may also be interested in doing an epidemiological study. The Young Epidemiology Scholars (YES) competition just finished its' last and final year, but they still have a lot of information regarding epidemiological studies http://yes.collegeboard.org/. I was a semi-finalist for the competition last year.

Please let us know if you have any more questions!
- Travis Sigafoos

Anna, I found this additional information regarding the rules about potentially hazardous biological agents for pre-college research. http://www.societyforscience.org/page.aspx?pid=3

Laboratory stuides culturing known MRSA (Methicillin resistant Staphlococcus aureus) and KPC (Klebsiella pneumonia) must be conducted in a BSL-2 labortatory in a Registered Research Institution with documented IBC committee review approval.

Extreme caution should be exercised when selecting out antibiotic resistant organisms. Studies using such organisms require at least BSL-2 containment.

BSL-2 containment is designed to maximize safety when working with agents of moderate risk to humans and the environment. Access to the laboratory is restricted. Biological safety cabinets (Class 2, type A, BSC) must be available. An autoclave should be readily available for decontaminating waste materials. Lab coats, gloves and face protection are required. The laboratory work must be supervised by a competent scientist who understands the risk associated with working with the agents involved.

BSL-2 risk group contains biological agents that pose moderate risk to personnel and the environment. If exposure occurs in a laboratory situation, the risk of spread is limited and it rarely would cause infection that would lead to serious disease. Effective treatment and preventive measures are available in the event that an infection occurs. The agents require Biosafety Level 2 containment. Examples of BSL-2 organisms are: Mycobacterium, Streptococcus pneumonia, Salmonella choleraesuis.

I know this a lot of information but hopefully it is helpful!
- Travis Sigafoos

Thanks so much!!! This was really helpful.
I think I'll use a more simple bacteria which you recommended. Do you know anything about agar? I read some things about it, and I was wondering if I could put those in petri dishes and then add the some natural antibiotics. If I do this, would I have to find a BSL-1 labratory to work on? Or would I be able to work on it at school or home?

Thanks again! And the epidemiology studies seem really interesting. I might think about that for another project.

Anna,

I am glad that information was helpful. There are many forms of Agar that can be cultured in a petri dish. I would suggest that you speak with a microbiology (if avaliable) or biology teacher at your high school. Microbiology classes often culture bacteria in lab activities so your school may have forms of bacteria available for your experiment. In that case, your experiment should be conducted at your school and would fall under BSL-1 protocol. I would be against the idea of completing the experiment within your house.

Let us know if you have any additional questions and keep us posted on your experiment!

- Travis Sigafoos

In addition here are a few links to projects on sciencebuddies.org that you may interest you.

Do Different Dilutions of Disinfectants Affect the Development of Bacterial Resistance?
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... g&from=TSW

I would suggest this project as a guide for you, since you won't be able to do this project in vitro you may be interested in looking at how natural disinfectants affect bacteria growth such as vinegar.

Antibiotic Resistance
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... g&from=TSW

Biowarfare: Experiment with Viruses that Destroy Bacteria
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... g&from=TSW

Natural Antimicrobial Agents
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... g&from=TSW

Anna,

As other members posted you must be extremely careful when testing resistant strains of bacteria, especially the omni-present E. coli and S. aureus. I would recommend that you see the availability of working in a hospital lab. Also, could you provide some additional detail into your project, as I have done similar projects for ISEF and would love to help. It is very important that the design of your experiment limits the variables to only one (the effect different antibiotics have)

Ishan

Anna,

Perhaps rather than ordering strains of bacteria you might want to culture your own bacteria. Your mouth, your skin, and the soil in your backyard would be excellent sources of microbial life. And since the genes that provide antibiotic resistance are pervasive in the environment, it is highly probable that you will find antibiotic resistance strains. You can also create your own resistance strains by using selective pressure (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selection). For example, plating a benign strain of E. Coli on agar that has been supplemented with an antibiotic (such as ampicillin) will lead to colonies of E. Coli that are resistant to that antibiotic.

I'm a microbiologist by training and my graduate work focused on antibiotic resistance genes in human colonic bacteria. I'd be happy to provide additional help should you need it.

Dave