| Congresso Brasileiro de Microbiologia 2023 | Resumo: 1281-2 | ||||
Resumo:The interiorization of higher education (HE) promotes a territorial reconfiguration, positively impacting the economy and improving the quality of life. In a social approach, interiorization provides intercultural exchange, sociability, resignification of knowledge, and the production of new understandings. The State of Ceará is predominantly a semi-arid climate region, and the hinterland mesoregion exhibits high temperatures and dry climate, making it most vulnerable to water crises. Coping with droughts is done through the construction of surface reservoirs and the exploitation of groundwater. However, the deep wells do not always find sufficient volume of water for local supply. A common practice observed in Quixadá city, located in the central hinterland region of Ceará, is the sale of water by carters. They mount a donkey and go around the town selling water. From this picturesque scenario came the idea of exploring people's daily life from a scientific perspective in the discipline of environmental microbiology in a Biological Sciences course at the State University of Ceará, Quixadá campus. For it, we discussed water microbiology and water analysis methods in the classroom. Students were required to develop a project involving the region. After discussion, the class chose to analyze the water sold by the carters. For project execution, the students contacted a water seller, set a day and time for analysis, and applied a questionnaire about the origin and destination of the water. The students have chosen the Escherichia coli determination to carry out the Project. The culture mediums and instruments used were prepared and sterilized in Fortaleza city, the state capital, and transported under refrigeration to Quixadá city. For the experiment, we collected water in a sterile amber bottle. In the laboratory, a total of 100 mL water was inoculated in ten tubes of 2X lactose broth (10 mL of medium) with an inverted Duhan tube containing 10 mL of sample each, followed by incubation at 37ºC/48h. The samples with turbidity and gas were seeded in the EMB medium and incubated for the same period. The commercialized water is obtained from a deep well and stored in a cistern until sold in Quixadá city for consumption by the local population from Monday to Saturday. We analyzed the results in light of Ordinance 2914/2011 which determines the potability standard for water. The absence of E. coli growth in the water analyzed was a surprising result. The point of view of this only assay, the water showed to be safe. The implantation of graduation courses in interior cities and its research and extension actions must consider the regionalities in its constructive process. Several reports describe the positive effects of interiorization HE, including the interest in living in the region, reiterating the local potential. The teaching of microbiology based on the county reality brought more clarity about aspects of microbiological and asepsis techniques, analysis of official texts, and insertion of microbiology daily. The enlargement of practices inside this region reality can encourage students to develop new projects aimed at improving and expanding local research. However, it is notable that the structure and materials available are very different from those found in the capital, requiring flexibility in the methods used and, therefore, a challenge for the implementation. Palavras-chave: Teaching, Research, Interiorization, Microbiology | |||||