Bacteria that break down red blood cells (hemolysis) are usually pathogenic to humans. Some soil bacteria can display hemolytic activity. In this experiment, we sought to isolate soil bacteria with hemolytic activity and study their impact on yeast growth, as a model for eukaryotic cells. The bacterium we isolated displayed beta-hemolytic activity on sheep blood agar plates, and was identified as a Gram positive. The bacteria grew on 10% TSA agar and slightly inhibited the growth of yeast. Hence, 10% TSA provides sufficient nutrients for the growth of the bacterium and yeast, can allows us to further characterize the impact of the bacterium on yeast growth. However, the bacteria were not able to grow on yeast plated on YPD agar and we were not able to characterize the impact of the bacterium on yeast under these conditions. To further characterize the bacterium, future research should involve sequencing and identifying the compound that inhibits yeast growth.
 
