The Properties of Endophytes Found in Juniperus communis

Presenter

Joshua Sargent

Campus

Salem State University

Sponsor

Christine MacTaylor, Department of Chemistry and Physics, Salem State University

Schedule

Session 3, 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM [Schedule by Time][Poster Grid for Time/Location]

Location

Poster Board A57, Campus Center Auditorium, Row 3 (A41-A60) [Poster Location Map]

Abstract

For this research study, a sample of the plant Juniperus Communis [Common Juniper] was taken from the Pickman Salt Marsh located next to Salem State University's central campus. The fungal endophytes present in the stem and berry of the plant were grown and isolated. These fungal endophytes were then grown in potato dextrose broth and the metabolites produced by the fungi were extracted. Extracted metabolites as well as raw broth were then tested against multiple types of bacteria in order to measure potential antibacterial properties. The bacterial strains that the metabolites were tested against include Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Vibrio Parahaemolyticus, Pseudomonas Aeruginosa and Escherichia coli.  Three of the five types of bacteria were inhibited by various metabolites found in the Juniper samples. The metabolite extracts were also analyzed via LC-MS, where a variety of contained compounds were identified and further studied for potential useful properties. This research is currently being repeated with samples from the same area but gathered one year later in order to determine if the results achieved are reproducible. 

Keywords

Instrumental Analysis, Chemistry research, Endophytes

Research Area

Chemistry and Materials Science

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