Biodegradation Lab Report

A differential staining procedure used in microbiology is called the Gram stain. The significance of the Gram staining procedure is that it differentiates the bacteria into two groups. The Gram reaction of a bacterium adds valuable information for the treatment of disease. The Endospore stain is a special stain that is used to determine the presence of endospores in bacteria. This stain is used to detect if certain bacterium cell contain highly opposing spores within their vegetative cells. The acid-fast staining technique differentiates bacteria into distinctive groups. The importance of the technique is that it can identify all bacteria in the genus Mycobacterium. Two pathogens are included in this genus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae.

Benzene presence found in groundwater and soil due to 37 years of improper disposal of waste by Green Monster, Inc.

A 10 g of fresh soil in 100 mL conical flask was incubated under anaerobic condition with an addition of different solutions. The solutions consisted of 1 g/L of chloramphenicol for four treatments, 1) distilled water (Ctrl), 2) glucose of 300 mg C/L (+C), 3) KNO3 of 50 mg N/L (+N), and 4) glucose of 300 mg C/L + KNO3 of 50 mg N/L (+C+N). The flasks were evacuated and flushed four times with N2 to ensure anaerobic conditions, and acetylene (C2H2) gas was added to a final concentration of 10% (10 kPa) in the headspace. Gas was sampled after 24, 36 and 72 h using syringe and directly analysed for N2O concentration by chromatography with ECD. DEA were calculated from the linear increasing of N2O production against the

The purpose of this experiment was we were trying to see if the number of arthropods would be significantly different in sparse and dense areas of the woods. Ms.Ehnert provided us with the design of a trap to set up in the woods so we could more actually count the amount and types of bugs that we find. The trap was a cup filled with anti-freeze that we put in the ground and then covered it with a paper plait, but raised it so bugs could get in and bigger animals couldn’t. We waited for a week to collect the results and then counted all of them and sorted them. My hypothesis was based off of common sense, the simple assumption that less trees equals less arthropods and more trees equals more arthropods. I knew that living things need a habitat

Figure 1. shows the average leaf mass decomposition rate for invasive species leaves and native species leaves Results Explanation – In the experiment, we found that the invasive species leaves have a isopods faster decomposition rate than the native species leaves. The treatment used in the experiment differentiated only where the 1 gram (each) of the two different types of leaves were used. At the end of the experiment, the leaves had little to no moisture left to them and the 2 isopods were dead. Discussion – 1)

Mariah Pranger November 14, 2016 Environmental Unknown Environmental Unknown Section I. Identification of environmental unknown source Environmental unknown “A” was taken from a sink drain in the kitchen at my house. I would say that the kitchen sink does not get large amounts of human use compared to a public restroom sink, but it is the most used sink in the house. At the time of retrieval the sink was moist, and had no dishes. Environmental unknown “F” was taken from the shower floor of the main bathroom at my house. At the time of retrieval there was some amount of humidity in the air.

Bioremediation is the process in which microorganisms such as bacteria, yeasts, molds, and filamentous fungi are introduced into the spills. The introduction of these microorganisms assists in altering and metabolizing various chemical compounds present in oil. When the microorganisms metabolize these certain compounds it significantly reduces the time it takes for the oil biodegradation to occur.

Bioremediation is the use of bacteria, fungi, some types of transformed bacteria, and other microbes in the decomposition of garbage and breaking down of petroleum products. An example of where a transformed bacteria was used to reduce pollution is seen when scientists broke down naphthalene, an environmental pollutant found in soils that are artificially created, by using genetically altered pseudomonas fluorescents. This bacteria is stimulated to uptake the gene for fluorescence so that when it breaks down the naphthalene it produces light. The light produced depends on the amount of chemical the bacteria breaks down, allowing scientists to monitor the efficiency of the process. The Exon-Valdez oil spill is a famous example that involves the use of transformed bacteria that was genetically engineered to breakdown hydrocarbons in

This would allow the movement of water which helps to replenish the anoxic water with oxygen-rich water. This also helps eliminate the excess nutrients and assimilate the lower levels of waste.

Deposition of the various wastes from the excavation process has a significant effect on the composition of micro-organisms on the environment. The remains are composed of biocides and heavy metal which have a significant effect on the environment and its inhabitants. Natural gases that escape such as methane mix with vapor from the environment, resulting in increased acidity of the soil. This reduces the productivity of land as crops do very poorly under such saline conditions (DiGiulion, Wilkin, Miller & Oberley, 2011). The acid levels leak to the earth’s surface changing the oxygen and bacterial contents of the soil structure. This in return results in the plants being unable to fix nitrogen, the consequence being the reduced hydration capability if the plant hampering the formation of cellulose hence weak and contaminated plants will be

To begin waste disposal, is removing and destroying or storing damaged unwanted domestic. Disposal includes burning, burial at landfill sites, and recycling. Trash cans, can affect groundwater quality, especially if you dispose of it improperly. Roadside dumps as well

Urban and rural areas need bioremediation because they have different problems. Some uses of bioremediation include cleaning up crude oil, gasoline, pesticides, and sewage. In 2010, a massive oil spill had taken place in the Gulf of Mexico which had been a massive hazard to the animals and even the humans. Cleaning up the oil was risky for humans, so the idea of using bioremediators came up. Also, TNT and other explosives can be broken down when plants are are engineered to contain certain bacterial enzymes.

In conclusion, the comparison between the spring and summer experiments demonstrated that the treatments mostly showed significant results, but both factors (temperature and nutrient availability) had the biggest influence on the microbial metabolism. Nitrate was a limiting factor in the summer experiment; therefore, microbes did not grow as much as they did in the spring experiment. Microbes preferred to grow in the dispersant and dispersed oil treatments than in the oil treatment, which indicates that dispersant had a big impact on microbial metabolism and influenced their degradation ability.

The Post Hoc multiple comparison in Table 5 shows that among the three bacterial cocktails, the most potent is PAECI-003. This is supported with the p value of the three different bacterial cocktails; this signifies that in the Null hypothesis of the study only the PAECI-003 bacterial cocktail should be rejected. Remarkably, the result of bacterial count supports that the number of bacteria is a factor to degrade the hydrocarbon present in a controlled amount. Generation time of the bacteria is also considered as a factor as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumanii doubling time is 45 and 48 minutes respectively (Moffatt, Harper, Harrison, Hale, & Vinidradov, 2010). The result also showed that the PAECI-003, which is a bacterial cocktail

It turns out microbes don't wait for five seconds, or even 1 second to hop on to your food. Even brief contact with a contaminated floor will contaminate food wet or dry! Bacteria will adhere to food almost immediately, but time does matter. The food left on the floor for five seconds acquired a lot of bacteria, but the food left on the floor for 30 seconds picked up a few colonies more. Imagine if you left it for a full minute, or even 10 minutes... the amount of bacteria would be ten times greater! Furthermore, don't think your food is safe because the floor "looks clean" or the food that you dropped on it does. Floors make great homes for bacteria. Also, floors come in contact with our shoes on a regular basis, and the University of Arizona