Min Yee Winnie Chow

• BSc Biomedical Sciences (2+ 1 NUMed)
• Screening & Identifying Oxalate Degrading Bacteria From Legume Root Nodules

Over accumulation of oxalates in the body might lead to the formation of kidney stones. Oxalates are plant compounds that can combine with metal ions to form insoluble precipitates. Oxalate Degrading Bacteria (ODB) that can speed up the breakdown of oxalate are used for waste paper pulp treatment, or as probiotic treatment for kidney stones. Thus, screening and identifying new species of ODB will grant better industrial and clinical applications. The project aims to screen and characterize ODB from pea plant root nodules.

Yeast-Mannitol (YEM) agar plates were used to grow the bacteria isolated from different legume root nodules. The growth of bacteria on agar plates or broth that contain YEM or ammonium oxalate (AO) was compared by measuring the diameter of colonies on agar plates and cell density of broth cultures. Five strains of bacteria with increased growth in the presence of ammonium oxalate were observed with preliminary characterization.

Funding source: NUMed Malaysia