Volume 1, No. 1, 2015
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Acta Spartae is the undergraduate journal of sciences and mathematics at The University of Tampa, and is designed to recognize and promote the vibrant undergraduate research community at UT by providing a forum for the dissemination of research and ideas produced at the University.
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Browsing Volume 1, No. 1, 2015 by Author "Eric C. Freundt"
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Item Analysis of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli inhibition from varying concentrations of Vitamin C(College of Natural and Health Sciences, The University of Tampa, 2015) Victoria Suslovitch; Madeleine Kenton; Eric C. FreundtThe effects of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) on the gram positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and the gram negative bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli) were studied using a serial dilution of concentrated vitamin C applied in a Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion assay. It was observed that higher concentrations of ascorbic acid are more effective in killing bacteria. It was also observed that the gram positive bacteria, S. aureus, is more susceptible than the gram negative bacteria, E. coli. Lastly, it was shown that a saturation of vitamin C at high concentrations was not achieved within the experimental parameters, as no plateau effect was observed. The possibility of ascorbic acid as an antimicrobial agent is worthy of future research due to its safety, versatility, and availability.Item Comparative Analysis of Triclosan Resistance in E. coli, S. aureus, and S. cerevisiae(College of Natural and Health Sciences, The University of Tampa, 2015) Michael L. Koren; Omari M. Richins; Eric C. FreundtThe introduction of antibiotics into everyday life has led to untreatable infections because some bacteria are resistant to nearly all forms of antibiotics. One antimicrobial, triclosan, has been used for over 30 years in an attempt to control microbe growth on commercial products. In this study, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were used as model organisms to demonstrate the effects of triclosan on gram-negative, gram-positive, and eukaryotic organisms, respectively. The organisms were grown in a 96-well plate that contained serial dilutions of triclosan. This study propagated triclosan resistance over several generations, which could provide insight into which group of organisms are more susceptible or resistant to triclosan. The results of this study showed that E. coli is sensitive to triclosan, whereas S. aureus and S. cerevisiae demonstrated higher levels of resistance.Item Phylogenetic Analysis of a Chlorovirus Isolated from New York State(College of Natural and Health Sciences, The University of Tampa, 2015) Tara D. Temkar; Eric C. FreundtChloroviruses are large icosahedral viruses that contain about 50 structural proteins, and typically infect certain green eukaryotic algae. Recently, chlorovirus sequences were isolated from throat swabs of healthy adults and were associated with cognitive impairment. Here, we analyzed a pond water sample from New York for the presence of chlorovirus. Cytopathic effects were observed in Chlorella heliozoae, strain SAG 3.83. A portion of the chlorovirus polymerase gene was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction using degenerate primers. The PCR product was bidirectionally sequenced. The sequence of the polymerase gene was compared to known chloroviruses and shown to be 98% identical to ATCV-1. The sequence of the environmental isolate was phylogenetically compared to related chloroviruses, and genetic relatedness to known viruses is presented.