testing soil fungi for possible antibiotics

Question

how do you know if fungus had antibiotic properties

Answer 1

This is a really interesting question, and we actually addressed something similar in my Microbiology class! An antibiotic is a compound that kills bacteria. In order to see if a fungus has antibiotic properties, you could first spread bacteria evenly on a petri plate. Once a nice, even lawn of bacteria has grown, you could then place the fungus on the lawn of bacteria. If after time the bacteria near the fungus begin to die, you can conclude that the fungus has antibiotic properties.