Exploring the Microbial Diversity of the Carlson Lab Microbial Library

The Carlson Lab Microbe Library at the University of the Pacific is home to a diverse library of microbes isolated from soil, algae, as well as marine and aquatic environments from across North America. Environmental samples were ethically collected from Michigan, Puerto Rico, Washington, Florida, and California, capturing a broad range of ecological settings including tropical, temperate, freshwater, coastal, marine, soil, and forested lake habitats. The library contains 27 boxes of approximately 81 cryovials each with many strains duplicated for safe keeping. This presentation will break down the distribution of the microbial library between fungi and bacteria and discuss the various collection sites and diversity plating techniques. This microbial library is the heart of various on-going research projects in the Carlson Lab and has created research opportunities for over 100 undergraduate and 45 high school students over the last two years. These microbes are grown and extracted to build a chemical library. The library is stored in a high-throughput format to expedite screening for anticancer, antibacterial, and antifungal natural products. These microbes are the heart of the broader goal to identify novel compounds for future therapeutic use.