Aseptic Technique and Transfer of Microorganisms
Introduction:
Microbes, also called microorganisms, are minutes living things that individually are usually too small to be seen with the unaided eye. The group includes bacteria, fungi (yeast and molds), protozoa and microscopic algae. It also includes viruses, those noncellular entities sometimes regarded as straddling the border between life and nonlife. People tend to related these microbes only with major disease such as AIDS, uncomfortable infections, or such common inconveniences as spoiled food. However, the majority of the microbes play important role by helping to maintain the balance of living organisms and chemicals in our environment. Though only a minority of microbes are pathogenic (disease-producing), practical knowledge of microbes is necessary for medicine and the related health sciences (Tortora, Funke, Case, 2010, p.2). Microbial growth is referring to the growth of cell in terms of number of cells, not the size of the cells. Microbes that are “growing” are increasing in number, accumulating into colonies (groups of cells large enough to be seen without a microscope) of hundreds of thousands of cells or populations of billions of cells (Tortora, Funke, Case, 2010, p.157). Although microbes can be found everywhere around us, such as soil, water, food, sewage, body surfaces and also air, but to grow microbes is laboratory for research purpose, different microbes may have different growth requirement. A nutrient material prepared for the growth of microbes in a laboratory is known as the culture medium. Some bacteria can grow well on just about any culture medium while the other required special media, and still others cannot grow on any nonliving medium yet developed. Microbes that are introduced into a culture medium to initiate growth are called an inoculum. The microbes that grow and multiple in or on a culture medium are known as a culture (Tortora, Funke, Case, 2010, p.164). Basically, all culture media are liquid, semi-solid, or solid. A
Microbes, also called microorganisms, are minutes living things that individually are usually too small to be seen with the unaided eye. The group includes bacteria, fungi (yeast and molds), protozoa and microscopic algae. It also includes viruses, those noncellular entities sometimes regarded as straddling the border between life and nonlife. People tend to related these microbes only with major disease such as AIDS, uncomfortable infections, or such common inconveniences as spoiled food. However, the majority of the microbes play important role by helping to maintain the balance of living organisms and chemicals in our environment. Though only a minority of microbes are pathogenic (disease-producing), practical knowledge of microbes is necessary for medicine and the related health sciences (Tortora, Funke, Case, 2010, p.2). Microbial growth is referring to the growth of cell in terms of number of cells, not the size of the cells. Microbes that are “growing” are increasing in number, accumulating into colonies (groups of cells large enough to be seen without a microscope) of hundreds of thousands of cells or populations of billions of cells (Tortora, Funke, Case, 2010, p.157). Although microbes can be found everywhere around us, such as soil, water, food, sewage, body surfaces and also air, but to grow microbes is laboratory for research purpose, different microbes may have different growth requirement. A nutrient material prepared for the growth of microbes in a laboratory is known as the culture medium. Some bacteria can grow well on just about any culture medium while the other required special media, and still others cannot grow on any nonliving medium yet developed. Microbes that are introduced into a culture medium to initiate growth are called an inoculum. The microbes that grow and multiple in or on a culture medium are known as a culture (Tortora, Funke, Case, 2010, p.164). Basically, all culture media are liquid, semi-solid, or solid. A
References: Gerard J. Tortora, Berdell R. Funke, Christine L. Case (2010). Microbiology: an introduction (10th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Pearson/ Benjamin Cummings. James G. Cappucino, Natalie Sherman (2011). Microbiology: a laboratory manual (9th ed.). San Francisco: Benjamin Cummings. Micrococcus luteus. (n.d.). Retrived Jun 11, 2012 from the Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micrococcus_luteus. ----------------------- Sediment Confluent growth Single colony