Description

Lammert's approach is visual and incorporates “voice balloons” that keep the student focused on the process described. The techniques are those that will be used frequently for studying microbes in the laboratory, and include those identified by the American Society for Microbiology in its recommendations for the Microbiology Laboratory Core Curriculum (recommendations in which the author participated).

Features

• Unique, full-color artwork with accompanying step-by-step instructions

- Helps students visualize techniques as an integrated process.

 

• Brief presentation of techniques:

- The concise and easy-to-follow presentations of techniques in the handbook will make it more likely that the student will preview the technique before the lab period.

- Concise and illustrative presentation will appeal to visual learners.

 

• Photographs that show the outcomes of enzyme-catalyzed reactions - Appear with the test procedure rather than in a separate grouping.

 

• Portable 6” x 9” trim size and spiral binding -for students' convenience and effective use on the lab bench surface.

 

• Suitable as a supplement to an in-house or commercial manual.

     

Table of Contents

Unit I - Safety first!

  

Safety in the microbiology laboratory

 

  Universal precautions

 

Unit II - Culturing bacteria and aseptic techniques

 

  Preparing culture media

 

  Sterilization

    The autoclave

    Dry heat

 

  Aseptic transfer of bacteria

    Adjusting the gas burner

    Preparing bacterial cultures in broth tubes and on agar slants

    Transfer colony from plate to broth and to agar slant

 

  Isolation of bacteria

    Preparing a pour plate

    Preparing a streak plate

    Preparing a spread plate

 

  Characteristic features of bacterial growth in broth and on agar

 

  Maintenance and storage of stock cultures

 

  Culturing anaerobic bacteria

 

Unit III - Visualizing bacteria

 

  Effective use and responsible care of the light microscope

 

  Measuring microscopic cells

 

  Preparing a hanging-drop slide

 

  Preparing a bacterial smear

 

  Preparing a simple stain

 

  Preparing a Gram stain

 

  Preparing an acid-fast stain

 

  Preparing a negative stain

 

  Preparing a capsule stain

 

  Preparing an endospore stain

 

Unit IV - Enzyme-based tests for the identification of bacteria

 

  Hydrolytic (digestive) enzymes

    Starch hydrolysis

    Casein hydrolysis

    Gelatin hydrolysis

    Lipid hydrolysis (tributyrin and spirit blue agar)

    DNA hydrolysis

  Utilization of carbohydrates

    Fermentation of carbohydrates (Durham tube)

    Methyl red test (mixed fermentation)

    Voges-Proskauer test  (butanediol fermentation)

    Citrate utilization

    Oxidation-fermentation (O-F) glucose test

 

  Degradation of amino acids

    Indole test

    H2­S production

    Phenylalanine deamination

    Decarboxylase test

 

  Respiration tests

    Catalase test

    Oxidase test

    Nitrate reduction

 

  Miscellaneous tests

    Triple sugar iron (TSI) test

    Urea hydrolysis

    Litmus milk reactions

    Motility assay

    Coagulase production

Selective and/or differential media

    Blood agar

    Eosin methylene blue (EMB) agar

    Mannitol-salt agar

    MacConkey agar

    Phenylethyl alcohol (PEA) agar

 

Unit V - Counting microbes

 

  Direct microscopic counting with the Petroff-Hausser chamber 

  Preparing a standard plate count of bacteria

  Using Turbidemetry to estimate cell density

  Plaque assay for determining bacteriophage titer

 

Unit VI - Measuring effectiveness of antibacterial chemicals

 

  Kirby-Bauer method for sensitivity of bacteria to antibacterial

     medicines

 Evaluating antibacterial chemicals: The disk-diffusion

     method