Date of Completion

2025

Document Type

Honors College Thesis

Department

Animal Science

Thesis Type

Honors College

First Advisor

John Barlow

Keywords

Antimicrobial resistance, Antimicrobial resistance genes, E. coli, zoonoses, spillover, Resistance phenotypeso

Abstract

We explored the potential transmission of enteric pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes between birds and cattle on the UVM Miller farm. We hypothesized we would isolate the same enteric bacterial strain types from birds and cattle living on the same farm, and that these bacteria carry the same antibiotic resistance genes. We collected cow, calf, and bird fecal samples and cattle feed samples, isolated bacteria using MacConkey’s agar with and without cefotaxime, a third-generation cephalosporin, and ciprofloxacin, a second-generation fluoroquinolone, and determined species identity and antibiotic resistance genes using whole genome sequencing.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Available for download on Sunday, May 02, 2027

Share

COinS