Chromobacterium Infections

Often scientists work with bacteria that do not come in a labeled test tube— for example, bacterial samples taken from infected human tissue or from the soil—and the scientist must then identify the unknown microorganism in order to understand what behavior to expect from the organism, for example, a certain type of infection or antibiotic resistance. However, because of the relatively few forms of bacteria compared to animals and because of the lack of bacterial fossil records due to their asexually reproductive nature, the taxonomy used to classify animals cannot be applied to bacteria (Brown 275). In order to classify unknown bacteria, a variety of physiological and metabolic tests are available to narrow a sample down from the fathomless number of possibilities into a more manageable range. Once these tests have been performed, the researcher can consult Bergey’s Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, a systematically arranged and continually updated collection of all known bacteria based on their structure, metabolism, and other attributes.

Bacteria are ubiquitous; they can be found on the skin, in the soil, and inside the body. Because of the very nature of this ubiquity, it is important to be able to determine between different strains of bacteria. An example of this is determining the causative agent for a disease so that the patient will be treated with the appropriate antibiotics. It may be important to determine the bacteria in a certain region, because like with enteric bacteria, it is normal to find them in the digestive tract as they are in a symbiotic relationship with our bodies in this area; however, they also cause opportunistic infections in places outside of the digestive tract to our detriment, such as with a urinary tract infection. Some strains of bacteria are common to nosocomial infections, and identifying these bacteria as such helps create the guidelines for healthcare workers in antiseptic technique. All of the morphology and characteristics of each strain of bacteria help us to better understand the role of bacteria in the body as well as helps us understand how they can cause illness, and what treatment regimen to set in place. In lab this semester, a sample of unknown

Hospital acquired infections (HAI) will begin to display signs and symptoms within 48 hours. In order to treat the infections, physicians need to diagnostic tools quickly. The manufacturer of new diagnostic test makers, Kalorama Information stated last year that the world demand for testing and treatment of HAI will be over 10 billion dollars by the year 2015, increasing from 9 billion dollars in 2010. Kalorama also stated that HAI has a 5% infection rate of 40 million hospital visits a year, causing 100,000 deaths in the U.S. annually (Kalorama Information, July 14, 2011). Early diagnosis will improve the patient's outcome and decrease the chance of death. According to Kalorama, 20-30% of the HAI can be prevented by the simple use of better hand washing and cross contamination avoidance although the others need more intensive changes such as hospital ventilation systems and using more disposable supplies (Kalorama Information, p. 113) .

The purpose of this lab was to identify an unknown microorganism using lab techniques. The importance of identifying microorganisms is essential to the survival of humans, expansion of modern day medicine and improvement of quality of life. In 1884, Hans Christian Gram designed a differential staining technique to identify bacteria that would change the future of microbiology. He give rise to a staining process, known as the Gram stain to differentiate microorganisms into two groups between positive and negative gram staining microorganisms. The Gram stain is essential in a lab technique as it distinguishes the cells based on the physical properties of the individual cell walls, and is almost always the first test preformed to differentiate a microorganism. The identification of weather a microorganism is gram positive or negative can revel the bacteria’s virulence, cell wall structure, resistance to antibiotics, resistance to physical disruptions and so much more. In order to identify the unknown provided, unknown #27, the Gram stain was the first test preformed. After discovering that the unknown bacterium was indefinitely a gram positive microorganism, the vast possibilities were narrowed down. However, In order to more definitively identify the unknown, the next step was to preform biochemical tests. A biochemical test identifies metabolic

Clostridium difficile infection is a suprainfection cause by prolong use of antibiotics. Board spectrum antibiotic such as Penicillins, clindamycin, and cephalosporins are the antimicrobial drugs most commonly associated with C difficile colitis. According to Owens, in his research, C. difficile is primarily acquired in hospitals. Spread by spores, it can colonize a patient’s gut after helpful gut bacteria are killed by antibiotics. Its toxins can cause severe diarrhea and colitis, and it can be fatal (Owens 2013). On the other hand Kim in his research agreed clostridium difficile infection has been considered a hospital-acquired infection. However, a recent population-based study found 41% of CDIs were actually community acquired. It is becoming apparent that community acquired CDI affects populations previously thought to be at low risk; younger patients and patients who had no exposure to antibiotics in the 12 weeks before the infection. Thus, it is necessary to advocate and teach patient about

Clostridim difficile was first isolated in1935 by George and his colleagues from a stool found in a healthy infant by the name of Hall and O’Toole (Heinlen and Ballard, 2010). Yet in 1978, C.difficile was known to be associated as disease in human’s antibiotic-associated diarrhea (Heinlen and Ballard, 2010). It is 2 types of C. difficile: one that exists in spore form and the other in vegetative form. Depending on the type of form it exist in, allows it to grow in a certain environment. It is also a gram positive rod bacterium. When Clostridim difficile exist in a spore form, it can live in harsh conditions and in common sterilization techniques (Heinlen and Ballard, 2010). When C. difficile exist in spore form, it will be resistant to temperature

Clostridium perfringens is an anaerobic, spore-forming bacterium that can be found in soil, feces, and water. There are four major toxins (alpha, beta, epsilon and iota) and five strains of C. perfringens (A-E) that cause a variety of symptoms such as food poisoning, gas gangrene, and severe neurological disease in sheep and other ruminants. The latter will be the primary focus of this research paper.

A highly conserved gene will be used to identify a prokaryotic species isolated from the body. Fundamental lab techniques will be also explored and utilized, such as amplifying using PCR, cloning, and transforming the gene into a host cell. DNA electrophoresis and specific substrate plating will serve as analysis check points. The final product will be sequenced and compared to similar species to observe phylogenetic relationships.

Primates beguile me, as all life and nature does; for much of my life I have wanted to volunteer my abilities of assisting conservation. As the years have gone by me the opportunity never presented itself in this manner and now that it finally has, my mind cannot help but be joyous. As a child at the zoo or the animal shelter, I always wanted to be inside with those strange and amazing creatures, be they Gibbons, cats, snakes or spiders. My hands held a python and my shoulder served as a branch for a tarantula when I was still a child, all of those moments were gratifying and made me feel fully cognizant of the natural worlds around me. In that brief time I stepped out from the shadows of the excursionist and into the field of the specialist,

Natives to the forests of Southeast, South and East Asia, gibbons can be found in Thailand, China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, and Indonesia (Gibbon Conservation Center, 2012). Gibbons are highly adapted to life in the trees and rarely ever will come down to the ground. Their hook-shaped hands, long arms, and powerful legs allow for brachiating at amazing heights and distances. While brachiating, gibbons can move at speeds up to 35 miles an hour (All About Wildlife, 2014).

The first step in any bacterial infection involves the attachment of bacteria to the host surface, which followed by colonisation, and infection. Streptococcus pneumonia is a significant human pathogenic bacterium; organism causes invasive diseases such as sepsis, meningitis, pneumonia and some more disease in human. In pneumonia it attaches to nasopharyngeal cells through interaction of bacterial surface adhesins. Tao Wang et al (47) reported that Big Domain ( bacterial immunoglobulin like) of SP0498 a surface protein is a novel Ca2+-binding module, and suggested important role of the Big domain in many essential calcium-dependent cellular processes. Such domain are also reported in Escherichia coli intimin, and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis

Chromium is used in the body as blood glucose regulator. Chromium helps the body accept insulin into the cells; therefore, helping the body stabilize blood glucose levels. Chromium is essential for patients with diabetes or metabolic syndrome because it helps regulate insulin levels. Therefore, a chromium deficiency could be harmful to people who have insulin regulators. Deficiency is common in areas that have soil that contains low chromium amounts, such as the United States. To prevent deficiency individuals should consume broccoli, sweet potatoes, oats, and corn. Furthermore, chromium also acts as a digestive agent. Chromium helps in the breakdown different macronutrients. Chromium is required for the metabolism of macronutrients such

First we will survey some research done on transmission dynamics and the pathogens that affect tiger salamanders. It is believed that numerous bacterial pathogens in high enough quantities and infecting other tissues than they usually do can lead to death in tiger

Many microorganisms such as bacteria play a key role in the health and well-being throughout the world. Some bacteria help human health while others can cause illness and disease. (NIMH). Streptococcal bacterial infections were first marked in history in the late 1800s by Louis Pasteur as the cause for childbirth fever (NCBI ). Strep bacteria are thought to be an ancient organism that hides in the human host as long as possible (NIMH). Eventually the immune system does recognize the molecules of strep as a foreign invader and begins to make antibodies against it After almost a hundred years of streptococcal research, it may have come as a surprise to microbiologists to have a new streptococcal disease discovered and labeled in the 1990s.

Mounting evidences suggest that MTB evolved as a human pathogen in Africa and further spread took place with the first migrations of modern humans out of Africa around 70,000 years ago. Among many of the early studies of phenotypic and genotypic relevance, the one consistent finding was that tubercle bacilli from South India were less virulent and more susceptible to oxidative stress when compared to isolates form Great Britain. South Indian strains were also found to be devoid of sulpholipids. Even though strains of these earlier studies were not genotyped, on the basis of our current knowledge of the global phylogeography of MTB, it can be assumed that most of the South Indian strains belonged to Lineage 1 (Indo-Oceanic)[17]. We found clear demarcation in the compartmentalization of MTB lineages of this study isolates with respect to their geographical locations. Clustering can be used in post-genomic data analysis to group strains with similar traits. Clustering of individual SITs varies from region to region. Although spoligotyping may correctly identify “outbreak” episodes and can track the spread of the