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Unknown Bacteria Essay

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Introduction
Morphological, staining, cultural and biochemical data on the characteristics of different microorganisms was gathered. This gained information can be used to identify bacteria. A scientist by the name of David Bergey was the first person who proposed the system of bacterial classification in which bacteria are grouped according to Gram reaction, metabolism, and morphology. The first edition of Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology was published in 1984. This book can be used to identify a microorganism. The purpose of this experiment is to identify an unknown bacteria using the skills learned in microbiology laboratory this semester.
Materials and Methods
This experiment was conducted at Louisiana State University in Shreveport …show more content…
Khadajah chose number 2. After receiving her plates and unknown, she then proceeded to introduced the unknown bacteria to each plate. After the unknown was introduced to each plate, they were placed in the incubator for two days. The nutrient agar plate was used to observe colony morphology. The Mannitol Salt plate was used to separate nonpathogenic staphylococcus from pathogenic staphylococcus. A positive for this test turned the light red plate to yellow which signified acid production and pathogenic staphylococcus. The EMB plate was a dark red plate used to distinguish gram negative, enteric, lactose fermenter bacteria from others. The starch plate was a clear plate used to test for hydrolysis. Hydrolysis is the breakdown of a compound with water. A positive for this test resulted in a clearing area around the bacteria after the addition of iodine called the “Zone of Hydrolysis.” The Casein plate was a skim plate used to test for the “Zone of Proteolysis.” The “Zone of Proteolysis” is a white clearing due to the breakdown of the Casein milk plate. The Oxidase plate was used to do the oxidase test. The Lipid Hydrolysis plate was …show more content…
A gram (+) bacteria will be blue while a gram (-) bacteria will be red. A blue clustered bacteria was seen in the microscope. It was then inferred that the unknown was either Staphylococcus epidermis or Staphylococcus aureus. Figure 1 shows an example of how the unknown bacteria looked when observed with the microscope. Table 2 shows the expected results of staphylococcus epidermis and staphylococcus aureus. The information for this table was gained from the Bergey’s Manual, ncni.nlm.nih.gov and the microbiology lab manual. Most of the tests done produced similar results. Notable difference between these two can be seen on the Mannitol Salt plate and in the gelatin test. The unknown was able to ferment glucose and sucrose while lactose was unable to be fermented. The starch plate and EMB were negative. while the Mannitol salt plate turned yellow where the unknown was applied. The catalase test was a weak positive. The SIM tube was hydrogen sulfide negative and not motile, while the methyl red test was positive. The Voges-Proskaur test, citrate test, urease test, lipid hydrolysis plate, oxidase plate and casein plate were all negative. In the nutrient deep tube, the bacteria showed no motility. The nitrate test and gelatin test were both positive. The triple sugar iron test produced a yellow slant and yellow butt. On the nutrient agar plate, the bacteria appeared to be smooth,

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