Impact of Land Development on Soil Microdiversity

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

2024

Abstract

Due to the escalating expansion of industrialization and the scarcity of effective antibiotics, it is crucial to investigate the impact of land development on soil microbial diversity and their antibiotic-producing properties. Low Impact Development (LID), a strategy employed to preserve ecosystems in community developments, remains uncertain regarding its efficiency in maintaining microbial diversity. In this study, soil samples were collected from nine sites within the VIDA development and the Texas A&M University-San Antonio campus, comprising three undisturbed, three disturbed, and three greenway sites. The isolated bacteria will be screened for antibiotic production and genetically characterized to identify the bacterial composition at each site. Preliminary findings indicate that undisturbed sites harbor a higher diversity of bacteria with antibiotic-producing properties compared to greenway and disturbed sites. This suggests that LID may potentially have a negative impact and may not preserve microbial communities as expected.

Comments

Studies in Biology
BLH 262

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