Searching for Antimicrobial Activity in Tungara Frog Foam Nests
Poster Number
36
Format
Poster Presentation
Faculty Mentor Name
Joan Lin-Cereghino
Faculty Mentor Department
Biological Sciences
Additional Faculty Mentor Name
Geoffrey Lin-Cereghino
Abstract/Artist Statement
During mating, Tungara frogs produce foam nests that incubate their fertilized eggs. Researchers have observed that the nests last remarkably long without antimicrobial decay. In their experiment, they identified a cocktail of six proteins as the cause of this resilient nature. However, they did not explicitly prove this activity. We set out to determine whether or not the foam nests actually possess antimicrobial activity by following the Kirby-Bauer method, an antimicrobial susceptibility test. In our first trial, we tested the foam material directly and found the results to be negative. Using the same method in a second trial, we extracted the protein from the foam and tested it for antibacterial activity on five different bacterial cultures and found a similar outcome. Based on the results of our experiments, we conclude that the foam nest does not possess antibacterial activity against the strains tested.
Location
DeRosa University Center, Ballroom
Start Date
26-4-2014 2:00 PM
End Date
26-4-2014 4:00 PM
Searching for Antimicrobial Activity in Tungara Frog Foam Nests
DeRosa University Center, Ballroom
During mating, Tungara frogs produce foam nests that incubate their fertilized eggs. Researchers have observed that the nests last remarkably long without antimicrobial decay. In their experiment, they identified a cocktail of six proteins as the cause of this resilient nature. However, they did not explicitly prove this activity. We set out to determine whether or not the foam nests actually possess antimicrobial activity by following the Kirby-Bauer method, an antimicrobial susceptibility test. In our first trial, we tested the foam material directly and found the results to be negative. Using the same method in a second trial, we extracted the protein from the foam and tested it for antibacterial activity on five different bacterial cultures and found a similar outcome. Based on the results of our experiments, we conclude that the foam nest does not possess antibacterial activity against the strains tested.