Princess Pinamang

The Evaluation of the PVAMU Soil Microbiome: Evaluation of the Diversity of Microorganisms Princess Pinamang and Quincy C. Moore (Faculty Mentor) Department of Biology, Marvin D. and June Samuel Brailsford College of Arts and Sciences Prairie View A&M University

Soil-borne microorganisms are an essential part of the biosphere, yet just a small percentage have been identified and even fewer have been cultivated under laboratory conditions. The microbes in the ground beneath us are beneficial beyond the agricultural sector, they influence human and environmental health. In an effort to bridge the data gap, this study assesses the diversity and characteristics of the soil bacteria throughout the Prairie View Agricultural and Mechanical University campus and Gov. Bill and Vara Daniel Farm. This work is an extension of a previous soil survey of the campus that evaluated the availability of micronutrients as well as chemical properties of the soil. Nutrient agar plates were inoculated with various soil samples overnight. Growth was observed and plated in IF-A media for use in the Biolog. Catalase and oxidase enzymatic tests and gram stains were conducted on the bacterial cultures. Major findings include a dominance of Gram-positive bacteria (64.3 %), a presence of endospores, and strong -hemolytic activity on differential media. As the different bacterial species were isolated from the soil, we identified varying degrees of enzymatic activity and 4 separate colony shapes. Additionally, compositional comparisons were made beyond the previous study through the aid of publicly available regional and global spatial studies and datasets. These results will encourage further local scale soil analysis and build the necessary dataset to investigate the impact of climate change and urbanization on the soil microbial community.

49 | Page