Transcript Identification of Bacteria by Enzymatic Activitiy Courtney

Identification of Bacteria by Enzymatic Activitiy
Courtney Ballinger
Department of Biology, Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, TN
Introduction
•Bacteria
are powered by biochemical reactions known as
metabolism (Tondo et al 2004).
•The main purpose of metabolism is to generate energy
and use it for the work of the bacteria (Kilian 1978).
•Metabolic reactions are performed by enzymes and with
each individual step throughout the metabolic pathway
require the use of a different enzyme (Krivobok et al
2003).
•Different bacterial species use different pathways (King
et al 1978).
•Complement of enzymes found in a particular bacterium
can be used as a fingerprint to identify it (Goss 2006).
Objective and Hypothesis
•The
objective is to be able to identify various bacteria so
the identification of an unknown bacterium is possible.
•The hypothesis is that I will be able to identify an
unknown bacterium using six enzyme tests on less than
ten organisms.
•The null hypothesis would be that the unknown bacterium
will be identified by having to use more than ten
organisms for the identification of the unknown bacterium.
Results
•The identification of various unknown bacteria using
this method was successful.
The graph (Figure 1) shows the success rate of
identifying unknown bacteria by this process.
My results proved that my hypothesis of being able to
identify unknown bacteria using only six enzyme tests
on less than ten organisms can be accepted.
The null hypothesis of having to use more than ten
organisms can be rejected.
The results supported the results found in the
literature sources used.
Comparison of Experimental Tests to Standard
Tests
Methods and Materials
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Overall
the results that I collected positively
correlated with the previous work and
information that researchers in the past have
collected on this topic.
Fast identification of unknown bacteria is
possible with the assistance of enzyme
reactivity.
Using the identification of other bacteria and
enzyme reactivity, it allows unneeded tests to be
eliminated from the normal routines commonly
used.
This procedure of identification can benefit
people throughout the medical field.
With the assistance of enzyme tests this
method could save time, money, and possibly
lives.
Experimental Tests
Enterococcu
s fecalis
Escherichia
coli
Aeromonas
hydrophila
Bacillus
megaterium
Alcaligenes
fecalis
Pseudomona
s aeruginosa
Standard Tests
Staphylococ
cus aureus
will be achieved by oxidation-fermentation
tests, catalase and oxidase tests, staining, and culture
methods in the lab using methods outlines in the Biology
3230 Lab Manual (Goss 2006).
•Materials needed will be two starch agar plates, two DNA
agar plates, two oxidation-fermentation glucose tubes,
oxidase test strips, hydrogen peroxide, slides, sterile
wooden sticks, sterile mineral oil, and Gram stain
reagents.
•Results were recorded in Table 1 after each experiment
was conducted.
# of Tests
•Identification
Conclusions
Organisms
Figure 1. Comparison of Tests
•Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Dr. Goss for allowing me to
use her laboratory to perform my experiment. I
would also like to thank those in the TTU faculty
who helped me in my research and ideas.
Finally, Suzanne Ballinger, John Crouch, and
Nikki Talbott deserve a great amount of thanks
for critiquing my manuscript.