Bacterial Quantification by Culture Lab

Microbiology Bacterial Quantification by Culture Lab Procedure: To perform this lab, you will need to calculate a soil sample with fungus. The purpose of this lab is to test if the fungal compound has antibacterial properties. So, to get start lets set up the experiment so we can test the antibiotic properties. You need to follow proper PPE so grab a lab coat. The other equipment we will be using throughout the lab are agar plates, pipettes, vortex, incubator, Bunsen burner and the glass spreader for the samples on the agar plates. Throughout the experiment you will be incubating the tubes at 37° C to determine the bacterial growth and if the compound makes a good antibiotic. Observations: Throughout the experiment I observed the growth of cell colonies during incubation. I had to calculate the colonies on the agar plate from the samples used to determine the number of viable bacteria cells. I had to reduce the cfu/mL by performing a serial dilution. Each step would require too much writing, so I’ll try and sum up the main parts in simple terms. I had to mix the different solutions on the vortex and transfer 0.1, 0.01 and 0.001 to calculate the cfu/mL and then test the effect of the fungal compound to determine its effect on the bacterial growth. One example is I counted the colonies and came up with 54 so I calculated 5.4 x 102 cfu/mL to come up with 540 viable cells in one milliliter of the solution. I then incubated the stock solution with E. coli and the fungal compound over 96 hours. I had to quantify the cfu/mL at different time points. Hours 24 48 72 96 Cfu/mL 2,200 160,000 11,000,000 440,000,000 Conclusions: The bacteria multiplied by binary fission. Each cell splits to create two daughter cells and from there the population doubles with every generation. We determined that the fungal compound does after antibacterial properties. This antibiotic is called bacteriostatic agent. It will down the bacterial growth but does not kill it. I thought the lab was interesting. A lot of it goes over my head but I’m sure that’s to be expected but it was interesting to learn and help determine if the fungal compound could be used as an antibiotic and how that process works. Saving lives through Labster 😊