Bacteria In You

Today was another hardworking day, and I performed a variety of tasks. The first thing that I did was to get the Tryptone Broth from the incubator that I left on Tuesday, and added indole (I would need to add some drops to the side of the tube and let it flow down), and then gently rotate the tube for a minimum of 10 minutes.) I had to make sure that I left it undisturbed to get accurate results.

 

(Because the picture shows a red top layer, it is positive.Left is before the indole reagent was added, and right  is when the indole reagent was added.)

Results
After vigorous gram staining, streaking, and a variety of tests, I finally had results to what bacteria was in Rid-X and garden soil. The bacteria in Rid-X is Enterobacter aerogenes.

• "Enterobacter genus originates primarily in the intestinal tracts of most warn-blooded animals. They are smaller rod-shaped cells that are motile and encapsulated compared to others in the same family of Enterobacteriaceae. 
• It is known to be resistant to antibiotics.
• Found in soil, water, dairy products, and the intestines of animals and humans.
• Causes diseases in humans 
• Are opportunistic and only infect those who already have suppressed host immunity defenses. 
• Infants, the elderly, and those who are in the terminal stages of other diseases are prime candidates for such infections."

Information from:

microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Enterobacter_aerogenes 

The garden soil sample contained Escherichia Coli (E. Coli). 

• "It is an aerobic, gram negative, rod-shaped bacteria that can be commonly found in animal feces, lower intestines of mammals, and even on the edge of hot springs. They prefer to live at a higher temperature rather than the cooler temperature. It does not sporulate, and it is easy to eradicate by simple boiling or basic sterilization.
• Can help the digestion breakdown and absorption, and vitamin K production in intestines. 
• Most strains are not harmful. 
• Can cause severe infections to mammals and animals."

Information from: 

microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/escherichi_coli

I found these findings to be very interesting and surprising. The bacteria that I found could be harmful, but there are benefits such as helping digestion and removing toxic substances from crude oil. Bacteria is a helpful and harmful organism!

 

Lastly, I gram-stained 10 slides, they were 10g of soil sample (6 different bacterial colonies) and 1g of soil sample (4 different bacterial colonies). It took me some time to do, but finally finished and will be looking under the microscope on Tuesday.