FINE FOCUS AN INTERNATIONAL MICROBIOLOGY JOURNAL FOR UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FinalJournal.indd 89 9/25/15 11:38 AM 90 • FINE FOCUS, VOL. 1 (2) MISSION We publish original research by undergraduate students in microbiology. This includes works in all microbiological specialties and microbiology education. SCOPE We are an international journal dedicated to showcasing undergraduate research in all felds of microbiology. Fine Focus is managed entirely by undergraduate students from production to print but utilizes an External Editorial Board of experts for double-blind peer review of manuscripts. CONTACT INFORMATION Call: +1-765-285-8820 Email: [email protected] Facebook: Fine Focus Journal Twitter: @focusjournal Online: fnefocus.org Copyright 2015, Fine Focus all rights reserved FinalJournal.indd 90 9/25/15 11:38 AM CONTENTS • 91 TABLE OF CONTENTS PERSPECTIVE 93 Objective Lens John L. McKillip, Ph.D APPLIED/ENVIRONMENTAL 95 Rhizofiltration of Lead Contaminated Soil by Helianthus annuus amended with Bacillus megaterium and EDTA Kaitlin M. Pearce, Alexandra Kurtz, and Rebekah J. Ward PATHOGENS AND ANTIMICROBIAL FACTORS 109 Detection of Borrelia and Ehrlichia in Rhipicephalus sanguineus Rosa Vasquez-Espinoza and David L. Beck 121 Characterization of a mucoid-like Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm Brandon M. Bauer, Lewis Rogers, Monique Macias, Gabriella Iacovetti, Alexander M. Woodrow, Melissa J. Labonte-Wilson, and Kathleen G. Tallman REVIEW 139 Striking up the conversation: quorum sensing in fungi Brooke Martini, Cody Orr, and Ginny Webb CURRENT ISSUES IN BIOSAFETY 153 Safe science is good science Antony Schwartz, Adam Clarkson, Richard G. Baumann, Shruti M. Gentilli, Jeffrey Potts, and Rafael Torres-Cruz PERSPECTIVE 159 Come Dine With Microbes: Where Microbiology, Food, and Culture Meet Community Outreach and Student Engagement Naowarat (Ann) Cheeptham, Ph.D. RESOURCES 174 Fine Focus team and Editorial Board members 175 Call for papers FinalJournal.indd 91 9/25/15 11:38 AM FinalJournal.indd 92 9/25/15 11:38 AM PERSPECTIVE OBJECTIVE LENS “ JOHN L. MCKILLIP, PH.D MANAGING EDITOR, FINE FOCUS ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY, BALL STATE UNIVERSITY Copyright 2015, Fine Focus all rights reserved FinalJournal.indd 93 9/25/15 11:38 AM 94 • FINE FOCUS, VOL. 1 (2) Our second issue will end up in the hands students garner a wider array of international of many frst-time readers as more of you submissions which should appear in the in the undergraduate microbiology research January 2016 issue. community learn of Fine Focus. We are pleased to call the American Society for As you look through this, our Vol. 1, issue 2, Microbiology (ASM) a community partner, you will notice a contribution from Antony and acknowledge the kind assistance and Schwartz, a new partner at the National support we have received from ASM, and Institutes of Health (NIH), discussing relevant many others, below. Fine Focus has been biosafety issues in undergraduate microbiology busy this year attending a variety of regional research. We trust this information will and national conferences, including the ASM be useful and interesting for you and your General Meeting, ASMCUE, NCUR, the students, and we plan on including this as a American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) regular feature into the foreseeable future. national conference in Orlando, FL, as well as Enjoy this issue, as it represents an the Butler University Undergraduate Research extraordinary team effort on the part of a Conference, the Indiana Academy of Science, wonderful group of committed students. Be and the Indiana Branch of ASM meetings. sure to read through this roster of Fine Focus Many of you have visited us at one of these participants, as well as our still-growing events and have received your copy of our Editorial Board of experts, listed at the end frst issue, and if so, we would love to hear of this issue. Please consider submitting your from you about how you like Fine Focus. undergraduate manuscript to Fine Focus, at Perhaps most noteworthy, we are excited fnefocussubmissions.org or request a free to announce that for four months this Fall print copy online at fnefocus.org. and Winter, Fine Focus will be (temporarily) We always welcome your suggestions and managed by a group of biotechnology students feedback by email at [email protected] at the University of Akureyri in Iceland. I will Enjoy your summer and best wishes for a oversee these efforts while on my sabbatical productive Fall semester. leave this Fall term, and will assist these -JLM ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Editorial staff of Fine Focus would like to acknowledge the following individuals for their assistance and support in helping to bring our new journal to production and print, and/or for advertising/promoting Fine Focus: McKenna Bireley Ball State University Christen Rees Roche Diagnostics, Indianapolis, David Concepcion Ball State University IN Brett Dawson CS Kern Printers, Muncie, IN Roger Shanks University of Illinois at Kelly Gull ASM Urbana-Champaign Eric Harvey Ball State University Gail Stoutamoyer Ball State University Chris Mangelli Ball State University Funding provided by the Ball State University Provost’s Immersive Learning Grant Program FinalJournal.indd 94 9/25/15 11:38 AM RHIZOFILTRATION OF LEAD CONTAMINATED SOIL BY HELIANTHUS ANNUUS AMENDED WITH BACILLUS MEGATERIUM AND EDTA KAITLIN M. PEARCE, ALEXANDRA KURTZ, AND REBEKAH J. WARD* GEORGIA GWINNETT COLLEGE 1000 UNIVERSITY CENTER LANE LAWRENCEVILLE, GA, USA MANUSCRIPT RECEIVED 24 APRIL, 2015; ACCEPTED 2 JULY, 2015 Copyright 2015, Fine Focus all rights reserved FinalJournal.indd 95 9/25/15 11:38 AM 96 • FINE FOCUS, VOL. 1 (2) ABSTRACT Heavy metal contamination causes numerous adverse effects to public health and the environment. Sources of heavy metal contamination are widespread, especially in urban environments. Certain plants such as sunfower (Helianthus annuus) have been shown to sequester heavy metals in their root systems, thus fltering contaminants such as lead (Pb) from soil, a CORRESPONDING process termed rhizofltration. In the present study, Bacillus megaterium was applied to the root system of AUTHOR sunfowers growing in Pb-contaminated soil and the effciency of rhizofltration was examined. Lead levels *Rebekah J. Ward in the rhizosphere of the Bacillus megaterium and EDTA Georgia Gwinnett College amended plants were almost 100 mg/kg soil higher than 1000 University Center Lane those without treatment, suggesting the amendment Lawrenceville, GA 30043 may have been effective in augmenting lead Email: [email protected] sequestration. In order to further elucidate these lead- sequestering communities, preliminary phylogenetic KEYWORDS assays were conducted on the soil with and without the presence of the plant. Although complete coverage • Bioremediation of the community phylogeny was not possible, there • Sunfowers was evidence indicating that the rhizosphere may have • Rhizofltration induced changes in the composition of the bacterial • Lead community. These studies offer simple methods for • Phylogenetics enhancing bioremediation in agriculture. INTRODUCTION Heavy metals are defned as metals that have Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a specifc density > 5g/cm3 (17). Elevated lead can be found in the air, soil, water, and concentrations of heavy metals in soil can in homes because of its presence in gasoline, have a devastating effect on human health industrial facilities, paint, ceramics, pipes, and the environment. This is especially true batteries, cosmetics, ammunition, and even for gardens located in urban areas. Human food (30).These make lead a priority heavy health is most adversely affected by certain metal for study in urban environments. heavy metals, namely cadmium, mercury, The problem of heavy metal soil arsenic, and lead (17). Excess Pb is especially contamination can be addressed using toxic to humans because of the effects it a technique known as bioremediation. has on kidneys and the nervous system, Bioremediation is the process of introducing which can cause headaches, weakness, organisms, such as bacteria, into a cramps, anemia, and may lead to mental contaminated environment in order to health disorders (1). According to the U.S. FinalJournal.indd 96 9/25/15 11:38 AM APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY • 97 remove the pollutants. Phytoremediation an infuence on the effectiveness is a subset of bioremediation that exploits of phytoremediation. Addition of plants in order to clean up contamination. ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) has Certain plants termed hyperaccumulators shown an increased Pb uptake by almost can store the heavy metals in tissues or the 20% in previous studies, and has also been rhizosphere (root system and surrounding shown to facilitate phytoremediation in soil), therefore taking it out of biological plants (13, 20). EDTA is a common and circulation. This process is termed powerful chelating agent that has been rhizofltration. This study was conducted added recently into heavy metal treatment to quicken the remediation process and systems and works especially well with increase its effciency without hampering Pb and copper (4). This demonstrates cost effectiveness. Previous studies (13, 15, that certain chemical additives can help 18, 20) have indicated that adding chemicals sunfowers absorb higher levels of Pb, or biological elements to the soil may help therefore ultimately reducing the cost, plants sequester metals in the tissues. This, amount of land used, and amount of plants in turn, reverses some of