Antibiotic Discovery from Soil Bacteria ADSB

Our lab, along with Prof. Indranil Biswas, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, USA organized a Tiny Earth-inspired, two-week, short course on Antibiotic Discovery from Soil Bacteria (ADSB). The first iteration of this course was held between 8 - 21 April 2024 at the Department of Bioscience and Bioengineering, IIT Jodhpur. Nineteen super enthusiastic participants from various parts of the country joined us on a journey of discovery that started from sample collection through soil characteristics analysis, bacterial isolation, screening, geometric volumetric assay, extraction of bioactives, bioautography, concluding with DNA extraction, sequencing and genomic analysis of the positive isolates to identify antibiotic biosynthetic gene clusters. Six isolates that were active against extensively drug-resistant pathogens were found and two of them sequenced and analyzed. Can't wait to see what ADSB 2025 (tentatively scheduled for January 2025) will bring!!