Finding a Soil Dwelling Bacterium that Precipitates Calcium Carbonate and has Urease Activity
Location
CSU Ballroom
Start Date
18-4-2016 10:00 AM
End Date
18-4-2016 11:30 AM
Student's Major
Biological Sciences
Student's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Mentor's Name
Timothy Secott
Mentor's Department
Biological Sciences
Mentor's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Description
Cement structures of all kinds surround modern civilization and the deterioration of these structures is unavoidable. A large amount of money is spent to fix and maintain these structures. The idea of biological cementation is to use an organism to maintain and sustain concrete through wear and tear that occurs over time. Most studies have tried to utilize Bacillus species for biological cementation but for my research I decided to study a soil derived bacterium that precipitates calcium carbonate and has urease activity. One of the ways these bacteria can be helpful in biological cementation is through Calcium carbonate Precipitation and urease activity. I began by sampling soil environments to obtain a natural bacterium that was able to precipitate calcium carbonate. Then I used PCR and agarose gel electrophoresis to obtain genetic material. The DNA was sent to be sequenced so I could figure out the exact bacterium I was working with. Now I am running urease and protein assays to judge the organisms ability the utilize urea and see if it could be a candidate for biological cementation studies in the future. This research could lead to the finding of bacterial strains that can be candidates for biological cementation and possibly better for cementation then highly studied Bacillus strains.
Finding a Soil Dwelling Bacterium that Precipitates Calcium Carbonate and has Urease Activity
CSU Ballroom
Cement structures of all kinds surround modern civilization and the deterioration of these structures is unavoidable. A large amount of money is spent to fix and maintain these structures. The idea of biological cementation is to use an organism to maintain and sustain concrete through wear and tear that occurs over time. Most studies have tried to utilize Bacillus species for biological cementation but for my research I decided to study a soil derived bacterium that precipitates calcium carbonate and has urease activity. One of the ways these bacteria can be helpful in biological cementation is through Calcium carbonate Precipitation and urease activity. I began by sampling soil environments to obtain a natural bacterium that was able to precipitate calcium carbonate. Then I used PCR and agarose gel electrophoresis to obtain genetic material. The DNA was sent to be sequenced so I could figure out the exact bacterium I was working with. Now I am running urease and protein assays to judge the organisms ability the utilize urea and see if it could be a candidate for biological cementation studies in the future. This research could lead to the finding of bacterial strains that can be candidates for biological cementation and possibly better for cementation then highly studied Bacillus strains.
Recommended Citation
Tully, Andrew. "Finding a Soil Dwelling Bacterium that Precipitates Calcium Carbonate and has Urease Activity." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 18, 2016.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2016/poster-session-A/30
