Microbiology Experiments: A Health Science Perspective, A microbiology laboratory is valuable because it actually gives you a chance to see and study microorganisms firsthand. In addition, it provides you with the opportunity to learn techniques used to study and identify these organisms. The ability to make observations, record data, and analyze results is useful throughout life.

It is very important to read the scheduled exercises before coming to class so that class time can be used efficiently. It is helpful to ask yourself the purpose of each step as you are reading and carrying out the steps of the experiment. Sometimes it will be necessary to read an exercise several times before it starts to make sense.

The Microbiology Experiments manual includes a wide range of exercises— some more difficult and time-consuming than others. Usually more than one exercise can be done in a 2-hours laboratory period. In these classes, students can actually see the applications of the principles they have learned in the lectures and text. We have tried to integrate the manual with the text Nester’s Microbiology: A Human Perspective, Tenth Edition, by Denise Anderson, et al.

Contents

۱. Introduction to the Compound Light Microscope
۲. The Oil Immersion Lens
۳. Simple Stains: Positive and Negative Stains
۴. Differential and Other Special Stains
۵. Diversity of Microorganisms
۶. Pure Culture and Aseptic Technique
۷. Chemically Defined, Complex, Selective, and Differential Media
۸. Quantification of Microorganisms: Serial Dilutions
۹. Aerobic and Anaerobic Growth
۱۰. The Effect of Incubation Temperature on Generation Time
۱۱. Moist and Dry Heat Sterilization: Thermal Death Point and Thermal Death Time
۱۲. Effects of Ultraviolet Light
۱۳. Effects of Osmotic Pressure and pH on Microbial Growth
۱۴. Effects of Antibiotics
۱۵. Effects of Antiseptics and Disinfectants
۱۶. The Skin Flora: Staphylococci and Micrococci
۱۷. The Respiratory Flora: Streptococci and Enterococci
۱۸. Enzymes and Hydrolysis
۱۹. Identification of Enteric Gram-Negative Rods
۲۰. Unknown Identification
۲۱. Chromogenic Agars and All-in-One Tests
۲۲. Selection of Bacterial Mutants Resistant to Antibiotics
۲۳. Transformation: A Form of Genetic Recombination
۲۴. Gene Regulation: Induction and Catabolite Repression
۲۵. Identification of Fungi
۲۶. Identification of Protists: Algae, Lichens, Slime, and Water Molds
۲۷. Identification of Parasites
۲۸. Prokaryotic Viruses
۲۹. Water Quality Determination
۳۰. Microbial Examination of Food
۳۱. Epidemiology and Quorum Sensing
۳۲. Identifying DNA with Restriction Enzymes and the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
۳۳. Electrophoresis
۳۴. Bacterial Identification using Ribosomal RNA
۳۵. Microarray
۳۶. Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA)
۳۷. Differential White Blood Cell Stains