Development Of A Proposed Selective Medium For The Isolation And Differentiation Of P. Sordellii

Author

Dimyana Bottros, University of Central FloridaFollow

Keywords

microbiology; infection; medium; clostridia; sordellii; difficile

Abstract

Clostridium, a genus of anaerobic, spore-forming bacteria, includes clinically and ecologically significant species like Clostridium difficile and Paeniclostridium sordellii. C. difficile causes antibiotic-associated colitis, while P. sordellii is linked to fatal infections and spontaneous abortions. Recent studies found both species in marine sediments, suggesting their role in environmental and wildlife health disturbances, including the 2013 mass mortality of over 300 manatees in the Indian River Lagoon. However, isolating and differentiating P. sordellii is challenging due to the lack of selective media optimized for its growth. This thesis proposes a novel selective medium tailored to P. sordellii’s physiological and morphological characteristics by modifying existing clostridial media components and incorporating differential substrates. The proposed formulation will be tested against environmental samples from the Indian River to evaluate its efficacy in supporting P. sordellii growth and differentiation from related species.

Thesis Completion Year

2025

Thesis Completion Semester

Fall

Thesis Chair

Self, William

College

College of Medicine

Department

Biomedical Sciences in the Burnett Honors College

Thesis Discipline

Microbiology

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus Access

None

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

STARS Citation

Bottros, Dimyana, "Development Of A Proposed Selective Medium For The Isolation And Differentiation Of P. Sordellii" (2025). Honors Undergraduate Theses. 414.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/hut2024/414