Seventeen antibiotic-producing bacteria isolates found across four freshwater environments

Antibiotics are produced by microorganisms as defense mechanisms against bacteria and have treated bacterial infections for decades. Most of the current antibiotics are extracted from soil bacteria, and no new antibiotic class has been found in nearly 40 years. However, antibiotic-producing bacteria were discovered on tree bark, emphasizing that other environments should be explored for these bacteria. This research identified a new environment for antibiotic-producing bacteria-freshwater. Bacteria from freshwater sources in Wisconsin were cultured and screened against nine tester bacteria. All four water sources contained antibiotic-producing bacteria; therefore, freshwater environments should be further studied for novel antibiotic-producing bacteria.