Sophia Gilmore | 2024 I.S. Symposium

Name: Sophia Gilmore
Title: Effects of Co-cultured Bacteria and Fungi on Pseudomonas protegens or Pseudomonas chlororaphis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Major: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Advisors: Stephanie Strand; Erzsebet Regan

Pseudomonas chlororaphis and Pseudomonas protegens are two bacteria commonly found in the environment. They are known to produce antifungals and secondary metabolites that can affect fungi and other organisms to protect the roots of plants. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a fungus found on the surface of fruits and used in baking. These bacteria and fungi exist in the same environment but the interactions between the two have not been studied. In this study, P. chlororaphis and P. protegens were cocultured with S. cerevisiae to figure out how the bacteria affects yeast cell growth and physical morphology. Based on the cocultures, P. chlororaphis and P. protegens were able to coexist equivalently with S. cerevisiae with no changes to the morphology of the yeast cells. However, when the bacteria and yeast cells were streaked overlapping each other, the bacteria colonies appeared mucoid. P. protegens began to connect via cell-to-cell junctions at each end of the filament giving the cells an elongated appearance and allowing them to share nutrients thus increasing survival. These results support the two organisms coexisting in an environment potentially helping plant growth.

Posted in Symposium 2024 on April 23, 2024.