Nicole Kim Rose Hills
Identification of a Novel Antimicrobial Compound from S. sasae
Many of the antibiotics used today are natural products of bacterial secondary metabolism. Streptomyces spp., in particular, have been found to produce many secondary metabolites, including antifungals, antibiotics, antivirals, and antitumorals. The modern age is facing a problem of rapidly increasing antibiotic resistance coupled with a lack of discovery of new antimicrobial compounds. This project seeks to identify and investigate the spectrum of action of a potentially novel antifungal compound produced by a Streptomyces sasae isolate from burned soil plots in the Blodgett Research Forest. This compound has been shown to inhibit growth of the pyrophilous fungus Pyronema omphalodes, and preliminary investigation has found that it is likely a novel compound. Through purification and identification of this antifungal compound, my project has the potential to aid in the discovery of a novel antimicrobial, as well as expand our knowledge of metabolites produced specifically in burned-soil ecosystems.
Message To Sponsor
I would like to thank the Rose Hills Foundation for their generous donation to funding my project. I am honored to have been selected for this fellowship and am very excited to have the opportunity to continue my research throughout the summer.