Virinchi R. Madireddy
8th Grade, California Connections Academy at Ripon
Ripon, CA
Hidden Threats in Organic Fertilizers: A Study of Antibiotic Resistance in Commercial Animal-Based Fertilizers
Antibiotics are used in livestock, and can end up in manure, promoting antibiotic resistant bacteria. Virinchi hunted for antibiotic-resistant bacteria in cow, chicken and fish manure, bat guano and garden soil. He grew bacterial colonies with antibiotics, and found garden soil, cow and chicken manure had antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
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Project Background
Antibiotic resistance is a major threat to human health. But Virinchi learned that most antibiotics aren’t prescribed to people, they’re used in livestock to prevent disease and help animals grow faster. More antibiotic use could promote antibiotic resistance, and using livestock manure “poses a significant public health concern as antibiotic-resistant bacteria can spread through soil environments,” Virinchi says. From there, they could end up on plants and in the food chain. He decided to find out if animal fertilizers might contain antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Tactics and Results
Virinchi compared cow manure, chicken manure, fish manure and bat guano with regular garden soil. He mixed each manure or soil into a solution and spread them on agar plates containing the antibiotic ampicillin. The antibiotic would kill non-resistant bacteria but allow the resistant bacteria to grow. Virinchi allowed the bacteria to grow at room temperature for two weeks. Then, he extracted the DNA from the bacterial colonies that grew and sent them to a company for sequencing. He found antibiotic-resistant bacteria in regular soil, cow and chicken manure, but no resistant bacteria in bat guano or fish manure. Cow manure, Virinchi showed, had the highest richness of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, some of which could cause disease.
Beyond the Project
Virinchi is a Scribe in his Boy Scout troop and keeps his troop’s records. He loves public speaking and writes both poems and short stories. One of his short stories has been published by the Young Inklings Society and his poems have been published with PoeticPower. Virinchi would like to be a microbiologist. “Microbiology is a highly impactful field with applications in food production, healthcare, renewable energy, and environmental sustainability,” he says. “What fascinates me most is the environment, particularly the microscopic organisms that live within our soil.”
