Microbes live in diverse natural habitats, ranging from hot hydrothermal vents deep into the ocean, to the insides of our guts. Microbes have not been passive passengers, but active contributors to the transformation of our planet and evolution of its inhabitants. Soil harbors an abundance of microbes in terms of biodiversity and biomass. Microbes that live in soil, have adapted to their environment, such as producing antibiotics or interacting with plants. Here, we tested whether the antibiotic-producing bacterium in the soil sample impacted the growth of plants, using flax seeds as a model organism. We predict that the antibiotic-producing bacteria will positively impact the development of flax seeds given that plants thrive where the soil sample was collected from. We isolated an antibiotic-producing bacterium, plated it in the presence of flax seeds, and measured the development of flax seeds. We performed Gram staining, 16S rDNA sequencing and biochemical assays and identified the bacterium as Chromobacterium violaceum. Our results show that C. violaceum promotes the development of flax seeds. This research supports the benefits bacteria can provide for the development of seeds.
