Date of Submission

Spring 2017

Academic Programs and Concentrations

Biology

Project Advisor 1

Brooke A. Jude

Abstract/Artist's Statement

Violacein is a purple pigment produced by the aquatic bacterium Janthinobacterium lividum. It is known especially for its antibiotic, antitumor, and antinematodal properties, among others. Although it has many uses and a large potential for clinical applications, little is known about the mechanisms responsible for its toxicity to so many pathogens. In this study, I used Caenorhabditis elegans as a model to study the toxicity of violacein in nematodes. By growing C. elegans on three different strains of J. lividum (one heavy violacein producing, one light violacein producing, and one non violacein-producing control), I used a survival rate assay to determine if the amount of violacein produced by J. lividum had an effect on its killing capacity towards C. elegans. I found that the strain producing the most violacein was toxic to C. elegans in the shortest amount of time. This indicates that the toxicity of violacein to C. elegans is concentration-dependent, which provides more insight into how violacein can be used as a bioremediation agent in the future.

Open Access Agreement

On-Campus only

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
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