MSU-WP students participating in national research project on antibiotic resistance

For several years, scientists and physicians have warned about the growing threat of antibiotic resistance in treating bacterial illnesses and disease. Some students at Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) are participating in a national research project to help combat that threat.

 

The students are enrolled in the human genetics and general biology classes of Dr. Sharath Rongali, assistant professor of biology. They are participating in the Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance in the Environment (PARE) Project developed by Tufts University's Center for Science Education.

 

The project aims to document locations of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment to help isolate "hotspots" that can be put under surveillance before antibiotic-resistant microbes can cause disease, Rongali explained.

 

"Students collect soil samples from their backyards, local farms and nearby lakes and extract DNA, known as environmental or eDNA," he said. "The presence of eDNA depends on whether living organisms are in that soil sample. This can include DNA from bacteria, fungi, plant or animal cells.

 

"After DNA extraction, they look for antibiotic-resistant genes," he added. "Then they amplify and test for confirmation of two of the most common tetracycline-resistant genes – tetB and tetM – widely prevalent in the environment.

 

"The results are then uploaded to a national database that tracks global antimicrobial resistance," Rongali said. "A quick look at the PARE website shows that MSU-WP students are the only ones collecting antibiotic-resistance gene data from Missouri."

 

So far, Rongali said, students have found the presence of tetracycline-resistant genes from some of the soil samples they collected in Missouri. In some cases, both tetB and tetM were found in the same sample, he added.

 

Learning new skills

 

MSU-WP students have been participating in the project since 2022 and presenting the results of their research at the university's Academic Symposium each spring. Rongali said the project will continue for the next few years, giving more students the opportunity to learn basic molecular biology skills.

 

"Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are being designed in many schools to implement inquiry-based learning. I wanted to use this student-driven research program to teach molecular biology techniques," Rongali explained. "Through this program, students have the opportunity to participate in a nationwide research project and showcase their scientific potential, and it helps me develop a student learning module that connects classroom education to real world applications."

 

Students excited about the opportunity

 

Two of the students who participated in the project this past academic year said the experience was exciting and encouraging due to its hands-on nature.

 

"The skills that I have learned and understanding the procedures that went into this project made the outcome intriguing," said Juliane Lopez, Lebanon. "Through this project I was able to learn the steps of DNA extraction from microorganisms in soil instead of a person. Although my intended degree will not involve the lab activities we have done as part of this project, through this experience I was able to learn genetics of living organisms on the next level, and I intend to keep this knowledge throughout the rest of my college career."

 

"Learning about antibiotic resistance and different types of infection-causing bacteria will help me in the future when it comes to helping people that I am working with in my field," added Macie Tate, Mansfield. 

"This experience has encouraged me to be involved in other research projects in the future," Lopez said. "Schools that open opportunities for students to be involved in research projects like this are encouraging and can develop students' interests in fields they never knew were possible for them."

 

"I have loved being involved in this research project and I am looking forward to participating in many more," Tate added.

 

Expanding the project

 

Rongali said he hopes to expand the current project to include culture-based research using soil samples. "The goal of this project is to culture bacteria in nutrient media and extract and sequence the DNA," he explained.

 

"Another project being developed is to extract DNA from wild mushrooms and sequence the DNA for the identification of new species," he added.

 

"We have received two instruments, a next generation DNA sequencer and a quantitative polymerase chain reaction system (qPCR), that will help us broaden the scope of the current research," he said. "I am hoping to collect more data for publication in a microbiology journal."

 

For more information about the PARE project and MSU-WP's participation in it, contact Rongali at SRongali@MissouriState.edu.