Genomics: Antibiotic Resistance and Directed Evolution (Indiana University)

Antibiotic resistance in bacteria is a serious public health problem. At the Summer Science Program in Genomics, teams will stimulate the evolution of antibiotic resistance in a safe, controlled culture, then sequence its genome and analyze the acquired mutations. They will gain hands-on experience with the molecular biology, genomics, and bioinformatics needed to address this and other complex, real-world life science problems. Each team of three participants use a custom chemostat to maintain constant growth of a non-disease-causing ocean microbe called Vibrio natriegens under moderate antibiotic selection pressure. The chemostat includes components for mixing and aeration of the growth media, optical monitoring of growth rate, and feedback control of antibiotic delivery to the culture. Teams will then map the genetic mutations that arise as a result of incomplete growth suppression.