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Environmental hotspots for antibiotic resistant bacteria arb
Title
Environmental hotspots for antibiotic resistant bacteria arb.
Creator
Dawkins, Karim, Esiobu, Nwadiuto, Graduate College
Abstract/Description
The overuse and misuse of antibiotics in environmental and clinical settings have been a driving force for the prevalence of bacterial resistance. In constant interaction with these chemicals which can harm them, adaptively and inherently, bacteria have devised resistance mechanisms to combat the deleterious effects posed. In the presence of a particular antibiotic, it is expected there will be selection of resistant micro-organisms and their associated resistance genes if present. In this...
Show moreThe overuse and misuse of antibiotics in environmental and clinical settings have been a driving force for the prevalence of bacterial resistance. In constant interaction with these chemicals which can harm them, adaptively and inherently, bacteria have devised resistance mechanisms to combat the deleterious effects posed. In the presence of a particular antibiotic, it is expected there will be selection of resistant micro-organisms and their associated resistance genes if present. In this study, a set of 10 samples were taken from recreational beaches in Ft. Lauderdale, Miami and Hollywood and four different agricultural soils. These soils were enriched after being collected aseptically with three commonly used antibiotics; Ciprofloxacin, Tetracycline and Vancomycin to select for resistant organisms, which produced 29 total samples. A metagenomic analysis was done with 16S rDNA amplification with primers 27F and 1492R which produced 14 out of 29 amplicons producing the expected ~1400 bp fragment from the conserved SSU 16S rDNA region using Agarose gel electrophoresis. From these 14 samples amplified, a second PCR would be run from each enriched antibiotic sample with their respective antibiotic resistance primers eg. vanA-D, tetO and qnrA to identify the resistance genes present expecting that the antibiotic used for enrichment would select for the resistant organisms. Future work includes the sequencing of the amplified resistance genes to help identify novel genetic alterations indicative of new adaptive mechanisms.
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Date Issued
2014
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00005810
Format
Document (PDF)
Emerging Insights on Brazilian Pepper Tree (Schinus terebinthifolius) Invasion: The Potential Role of Soil Microorganisms
Title
Emerging Insights on Brazilian Pepper Tree (Schinus terebinthifolius) Invasion: The Potential Role of Soil Microorganisms.
Creator
Dawkins, Karim, Esiobu, Nwadiuto
Date Issued
2016-05-24
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUIR000138
Format
Citation
Microbial Aspects of Plant Invasion: An Analysis of Soil Microbial Communities Associated with the Invasive Plant - (Schinus terebinthifolius) Brazilian Pepper Tree Across South-Eastern Florida.
Title
Microbial Aspects of Plant Invasion: An Analysis of Soil Microbial Communities Associated with the Invasive Plant - (Schinus terebinthifolius) Brazilian Pepper Tree Across South-Eastern Florida.
Creator
Dawkins, Karim, Esiobu, Nwadiuto, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description
The Brazilian pepper tree (BP, Schinus terebinthifolius), introduced to the United States in the 1800s, has since become a category one invasive plant in Florida, aggressively spreading to 3000 km2 of prime habitat. There is a serious dearth of knowledge on whether the rhizobiome plays any roles in the displacement of native flora and the range expansion of BP. This thesis discusses the well-established plant invasion mechanisms of the BP and highlights key emerging mechanisms and gaps in (a)...
Show moreThe Brazilian pepper tree (BP, Schinus terebinthifolius), introduced to the United States in the 1800s, has since become a category one invasive plant in Florida, aggressively spreading to 3000 km2 of prime habitat. There is a serious dearth of knowledge on whether the rhizobiome plays any roles in the displacement of native flora and the range expansion of BP. This thesis discusses the well-established plant invasion mechanisms of the BP and highlights key emerging mechanisms and gaps in (a) the current understanding of the molecular, below-ground processes of BP invasion and (b) studies on the potential role of microbial interactions in the success of BP invasion already established for other select invasive species, and the intervention of soil metagenomic studies to elucidate plant invasive mechanisms. These poorly studied mechanisms could further explain the aggressive spread and resilience of BP and contribute significantly to the development of effective and sustainable control measures, enabling appropriate strategies for restoring native plants.
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Date Issued
2016
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004697, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004697
Subject Headings
Brazilian pepper tree, Ecological risk assessment, Forest ecology, Invasive plants -- Ecology, Nonindigenous pests -- Geographical distribution, Plant invasions
Format
Document (PDF)
UNDERSTANDING THE MICROBIAL ASPECTS OF BRAZILIAN PEPPER TREE (SCHINUS TEREBINTHIFOLIUS) INVASION IN FLORIDA
Title
UNDERSTANDING THE MICROBIAL ASPECTS OF BRAZILIAN PEPPER TREE (SCHINUS TEREBINTHIFOLIUS) INVASION IN FLORIDA.
Creator
Dawkins, Karim, Esiobu, Nwadiuto, Florida Atlantic University, Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Abstract/Description
Emerging insights on the role of microbiomes in the sustainability of ecosystems and plant cover are transforming knowledge-driven agro-environmental management practices. For more than a century, the Brazilian pepper tree -BP (Schinus terebinthifolius), a category 1 invasive plant in Florida has defied numerous conventional control measures directed at its well-known ecology. This dissertation is one of the pioneer studies designed to determine whether microorganisms play a role in the...
Show moreEmerging insights on the role of microbiomes in the sustainability of ecosystems and plant cover are transforming knowledge-driven agro-environmental management practices. For more than a century, the Brazilian pepper tree -BP (Schinus terebinthifolius), a category 1 invasive plant in Florida has defied numerous conventional control measures directed at its well-known ecology. This dissertation is one of the pioneer studies designed to determine whether microorganisms play a role in the aggressive invasion of BP in Florida and examine potential mechanisms with the goal of creating supplemental restoration tools. To test the hypothesis that enhanced mutualism of Brazilian pepper tree with microbes, compounded by relatively low biotic resistance of Florida soils is a critical driver of its invasion, plant biomass indices, metagenomics analysis of microbial community shifts, electron microscopy of endomycorrhizal infection and qPCR of key rhizobacterial taxa were measured. A multifactorial grow-room experiment was conducted simulating invasion with BP and two Florida natives (Pinus elliottii and Bidens alba) in a sterile, bioinoculant supplemented, and non-sterile control soils with various plant combinations.
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Date Issued
2022
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00014017
Subject Headings
Brazilian pepper tree, Arbuscular mycorrhizas, Invasive plants
Format
Document (PDF)