Blog #10 4/1/24 - 4/5/24

 Intro 

It is the week before the poster is due and the conference. During the week we are still working on finishing our poster and tying up loose ends. We redid some of our chemical tests for the characterization of D. sonorensis. We redid the sim test, the catalyst test, and some gram stains. 


Methods 

Gram-stain (steps) 


  • Turn on the bunsen burner, and sterilize the loops

  • Then grab some of your sample with the loop and spread it on the slide 

  • Let it air dry and then pass the slide over the Bunsen burner to heat-fix it

  • Then apply the dyes in this order:

  • Crystal violet -1 minute

  • iodine -1minute

  • Ethanol-quick wash

  • Safranin - 1 minute

  • Then blot dry the slide and look at it under the microscope


Catalase test

  • Innoculate a plate with D. sonorensis and then incubate

  • Then in the fume hood add drops of hydrogen peroxide directly onto the bacteria on  the plate 


SIM test 

(this experiment tests the bacteria for reduced sulfur, production of indole, and motility) 

  • To begin you need to innoculate SIM tubes 

  • Then to innoculate the tube you need an inoculation needle and then stab the needle down to the bottom of the tube

  • Then place the tube in the incubator


Results 

The gram stains came out clear. The gram stain of D. sonorensis appeared gram-positive. The catalase was positive, this signifies that D. sonorensis produces the catalase enzyme. The results of the SIM test were Negative for the production of hydrogen sulfide, this means that the sulfur was not reduced. The test was negative for indole production. Lastly, D. sonorensis is non-motile. 


Discussion 

This week we redid some of our chemical tests because the results of the first attempt were unclear. I finished my graph on the chemical test results, and I was also asked to create a chart that listed all the media we used for our different chemical tests along with their ingredients. Next week all we will need to do is put together the different parts of the poster onto our template. 

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