Abstract:
Antibiotic resistance is on the rise in every region of the world. Common infections are becoming increasingly difficult to treat. Without action we could be at the end of modern medicine. Antibiotic resistance is a global crisis, the primary solution is to find new antibacterial treatments. Fungi have been an excellent source of antibiotics. The most famous antibiotic of all, penicillin, is produced by a fungus. Genome sequencing of fungi has revealed large silent biosynthetic clusters. Vast antimicrobial arsenals are hidden within these silent genes. Unfortunately these are generally not found in standard laboratory conditions. Inducing these genes and metabolites could provide novel antibiotics. One of the most promising methods for uncovering the silent metabolites uses competition. Fungi often live in environments of intense competition, where conflict is inevitable. Survival often requires fighting off microbial threats. Simulating these environments in the laboratory may allow us to find the antimicrobial weapons used. The method of growing microorganisms together is called co-culturing, and is the focus of my research. In this research I created a protocol for co-culturing fungi with other microorganisms. In order to create the foundation for co-culture experiments, I had to determine the best growth conditions to get the fungi to produce antimicrobial compounds. This was done by focusing on: incubation time, food sources, and different types of antagonists. My experiments investigated numerous stimuli for inducing antimicrobial production to find the best co-culture platform. The best facilitators of fungal antimicrobial production, from the conditions I tested were, 14 days of incubation, potato dextrose media, and bacterial antagonists. Consequently, I had numerous fungi demonstrating antimicrobial activity. This was proof of concept that fungi could be manipulated to improve their antimicrobial activity.