Microbiology Unknown Paper

An unknown bacterium was handed out by Dr. Honer. The appropriate tests were prepared and applied. The first procedure that was done was the gram stain. Under a microscope, if the gram stain is purple, the bacterium is gram positive, if the stain is red, it is gram negative. The next test was the fermentation tests for glucose, sucrose and

There are many reasons for knowing the identity of microorganisms. The reasons range from knowing the causative agent of a disease in a patient, so as to know how it can be treated, to knowing the correct microorganism to be used for making certain foods or antibiotics. This study was done by applying all of the methods that I have been learned so far in the microbiology laboratory class for the identification of an unknown bacterium.

This experiment was conducted to find the genus and species of an unknown bacteria prescribed by the lab teacher, which was unknown bacteria GA3 in my case. Identification of unknown bacteria techniques are used on an every day basis to figure out what type of bacteria it is and to find the best method of how to treat a patient with this bacteria (1). All five “I’s” of Microbiology were used in the testing for the unknown culture. Inoculation was used several times to put the unknown culture into agar plates or into biochemical test tubes. After Inoculation of these tubes or plates, they always were placed into the incubator for further growth and development. Isolation was used to make sure we got the correct bacteria we were testing for. After each further isolation, we gram stained the culture and inspected the culture under a microscope to further help in the identification process of the unknown bacteria. Multiple tests were done on the unknown culture to make sure we were confident in what kind of bacteria the unknown was.

There are many reasons for knowing the identity of microorganisms. The reasons range from knowing the causative agent of a disease in a patient, so as to know how it can be treated, to knowing the correct microorganism to be used for making certain foods or antibiotics. This study was done by applying all of the methods that have been learned so far in the microbiology laboratory class for the identification of unknown bacteria. The identification process can be completed with a series of deferential stains and biochemical tests. Creating a dichotomous key helps to limit the amount of biochemical tests done on an unknown organism and by observation

Two smears of the unknown bacterium #5 were inoculated while the second smear was used for a back up. The unknown bacterium dried for at least forty minutes. After the smears dried, the slides were heat fixed two times to ensure the stability of the organism. The slide was placed on top of the staining rack then over the small sink.

The identification of unknown organisms carries important ramifications that can be applied to many real world scenarios. In keeping with quality assurance beverages, food, cosmetics, and other products are frequently inspected for contaminants resulting from a presence of pathogenic bacteria. In medicine, a physician’s diagnosis and consequent treatment is largely determined from samples collected from infection sites that have been analyzed using microbial tests.

An unknown bacterium 15 was awarded and labeled at the table ready to be identified. Using the skills and test that are taught and learned in microbiology were applied into learning what the unknown bacteria culture was. There were multiple procedures and test done in order to gain all the information needed to determine which bacteria was given. In order to find what the bacteria was the first step was finding the right environment and temperature that would allow the bacteria to thrive and grow. Determining this is one of the most important steps in being able to obtain conclusive results that would allow the results of the test to be accurate and correct. Without the correct temperature and environment the bacteria will give inconclusive results which will alter and skew the end results and may lead to the wrong conclusion. By using the methods that were obtained and learned through the microbiology class allowed the skills and knowledge to determine the bacteria and execute the tests in order to determine the culture.

In the world of microbiology it is vitally important to be able to discern the identities of microorganisms. Not only is it important in a lab setting but as well as in healthcare in general. Properly identify what strain of bacteria a person has will aid in the proper medicine and dose given. Throughout the semester we have learned about different types of bacteria and certain test that can clearly identify them. The purpose of this lab report is to identify a Gram-positive or Gram-negative bacterium. Using all the knowledge of procedures and lab techniques identify the unknown and discuss all the tests you performed.

The bases of this experiment was to discover the identify of the unknown from three possible specimens: Klebsiella pneumonia, Escherichia coli, and Enterobacter aerogenes. Utilizaing the T streak technique, the bacteria was isolated into pure colonies for further study. The Gram Stain method was used to identity the morhphology of the bacteria such as the shape and whether the bacteria was Gram positive or Gram negative. Biochemical test were also used to help identify the unknown bacteria. The biochemical test used was the Triple Sugar Iron Agar, Sulfur Indole Motility test, Methyl Red test, Voges-Proskauer test, Citrate test, Urease test, and the Gelatin test. After observing the morphology of the bacteria using the Gram Stain method and utilizing all the possible biochemical test, the bacteria was identified to be Enterobacter aerogenes.

A wide variety of processes had been performed to determine what culture had been acquired in class. My group had acquired culture tube unknown #3. We first isolated the bacteria. In this step we took the broth of the unknown #3 and grew it on an agar plate. The first process that had been performed was discontinuous streaking, and continuous streaking to grow the culture for future use in the lab and to have extra to perform a whole variety of test to determine the unknown. The next experiment that had been performed

Whenever there is an unknown disease caused by microorganisms, tests are usually made in order to identify the organism causing the disease. There are several tests that need to be made and they include tests such as performing a gram stain, streaking a plate to isolate colonies, inoculating a broth culture, inoculating API strip, and performing oxidase and catalase tests. Having knowledge on how to identify these tests are of high importance in the medical field so it would be to the advantage of those individuals who know how to examine microorganisms and be able to identify it by correctly performing tests on organisms.

There were four possible organisms my unknown could have been: Citrobacter freundii, Enterobacter cloacae, Proteus mirabilis, and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Out of the four, I slowly narrowed my options down to only one of those organisms. Once the tests were done, I had narrowed the possibilities of my unknown organism to be Citrobacter freundii.

The bacteria that was contained within Unknown tube #12 is believed to be Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Figure 1. The bacteria tested to be Gram Stain negative, producing a pink, red color retained from the staining process. When the species of bacteria was plated on nutrient media, the cells produced an irregular and spreading configuration as shown in Figure 2. This same plating test provided the margins and elevation, lobate and hilly, respectively. The specimen was stabbed in a Fluid Thioglycollate Medium (FTM) tube using an inoculated loop of the bacteria. The results of this experimentation indicate the type of oxygen requirement of the bacteria. The test found the bacteria to be aerobic as colonies of the bacteria began to form along the top of the FTM tube (Manual 2017).

Bacteria are ubiquitous and ever changing, making the ability to identify unknown bacteria extremely important. Knowing a bacterium and its characteristics gives insight to how it responds to its environment and how it affects humans, which can affect the medical and pharmaceutical fields. The purpose of this lab was to determine an unknown bacterium through the use of varied approaches, to ultimately obtain more comprehensive results than a singular approach would. Approaches used in this lab include classical approaches, such as biochemical tests, staining and Bergey’s Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, as well as genomic approaches like isolation sequencing, polymerase chain reaction, electrophoresis, and a BLAST sequence database. It

To test the capability of a microorganism’s function, microbiologists have designed many different biochemical methods/tests. There were seven biochemical tests that were used to determine the identification of a gram negative unknown. The seven biochemical tests that were tested for in this experiment were: Sulfur Indole Motility (SIM), Gelatin, Methyl Red (MR), Voges-Proskauer (VP), Citrate, Triple Sugar Iron Agar (TSIA), and Urease. These tests were inoculated and put inside a hot room of 37◦ C for different lengths of times; 24 hours, 48 hours, or eight days. Using these tests, allowed for determining whether the unknown bacterium had the ability to produce H2S, gas, ferment alcohol or acids, the ability to be motile, and the ability