Naveen Eugene Louis

• BSc Biomedical Sciences (2+ 1 NUMed)
• Screening & Identification of Oxalate Degrading Bacteria From Environmental samples

Accumulation of oxalates in the body and paper pulp industries can lead to the formation of kidney stones and cause pollution respectively. Currently three oxalate degrading enzymes have found to work at a lower pH. The aim of this project is to develop a screening protocol that can identify different oxalate degrading bacterial strains with different properties such as pH range and substrate specificity that can have tremendous probiotic and industrial application. 

Environmental samples such as soil and root nodules of legumes which are rich in oxalate were processed and cultured on Yeast Extract Mannitol agar plates. In order to test for oxalate degrading capacity, all the samples were subjected to an environment with and without oxalate on YEM plates. All bacterial strains showed significant increase in growth rates and colony size. Agar well diffusion tests were performed to obtain a ‘halo’ which could demonstrate the utilization of oxalate.

Funded by: NUMed Malaysia

Project Supervisor: Dr Roshan Mascarenhas