Hey Topic Proposal

C-03

The effects of low concentrations of antibiotics on the development of several species of plants

Background of the study:

Antibiotics are regularly administered to farm animals to ensure their health. However, the
antibiotics are not often absorbed, and a high percentage may be found left in the feces of these
animals. These feces are commonly used as fertilizer, and the high amounts of antibiotics present
in the feces can later be found in the fertilizer. The fertilizer can in turn be found in the soil and
high concentrations of antibiotics in the soil can be seen in the plants. Particularly, the
antibiotics, tetracycline and sulfadiazine. As of now, we are unsure of the effects of antibiotics
on the development of plants, specifically at the levels of antibiotics plant are getting in the real
world. Although many studies have established both a positive, and negative link between the
antibiotics, and several functional traits in the plants. Including, but not limited to, root length,
root elongation and number of lateral roots with consequences for plant water uptake
(Piotrowicz-Cieslak et al. 2010;
Michelini et al. 2012)

biomass production, number of leaves,branching patterns, shoot length, internode length,

root/shoot ratio, fresh/dry weight

(Bradel et al. 2000; Liu et al. 2009; Yang et al. 2010;

Michelini et al. 2012; Li et al. 2011)

Unfortunately, many of these studies were done under unrealistic standards with extremely high

doses of antibiotics. In order to remedy this, further tests must be conducted to establish the

relation between the antibiotics present in the feces of animals, and the development of several

flora.
The task: do many of the same tests but under more reasonable conditions with lower amounts

of antibiotics.

The project goal: We need to establish whether there is a real correlation between the

development of the plants and the amount of antibiotics they are absorbing from the soil

To determine the relationship between the antibiotics in the soil and the development of several

different flora through the administration of specific, but low quantities of certain antibiotics

Project Specifications: The antibiotics found in the soil should have detrimental effects on

several aspects of certain species development, while having positive effects on several other

species.

Specific Objectives: The exact quantities to, first, prevent any development inhibitions must be

determined, as well as the quantities to aid whatever positive effects may occur

Methodology
Specific: External factors such as various seasons changing while the plants were being studied

were taken into account by selecting plants that undergo an entire life cycle within a season

The selected antibiotics were selected based on popularity, the most commonly used antibiotics

for livestock being penicillin G, sodium salt and tetracycline.

Plants were treated with 1 mg, 5 mg and 10 mg antibiotic/L

for penicillin (P1, P5 and P10), sulfadiazine (S1, S5 and

S10) and tetracycline (T1, T5 and T10), as well as with

two nitrogen addition treatments (N5 and N10,

Measureable:

The species of plants will be grown in a greenhouse

After 8 weeks each of the plants were taken apart and their leaves, stems, and roots were dried at

70C for 72 hrs and weighed. Canopy height, chlorophyll content and stem length were measured

bi-weekly, bi-weekly, and after 8 weeks, respectively.

Attainable and Realistic:

All the plant species are locally available, and most of the antibiotics are non-prescription.
Time-bound:

All the plants should reach 1 cycle within 8 weeks, which is the duration of the experiment.

Sources:

Vanessa Minden, Andrea Deloy, Anna Martina Volkert, Sara Diana Leonhardt, Gesine Pufal;

Antibiotics impact plant traits, even at small concentrations, AoB PLANTS, Volume 9, Issue 2, 1

March 2017, plx010, https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plx010

Objectives (you may enumerate your specific objectives)

Methodology (divided into several headings; may be enumerated in sequence)

References (APA)
Notes: TNR 12; double spaced, default standard margins for your word file