Submit the unknown identification report here. Rubric for the report: (100 points) Objective (2 points)Procedure- your notes since the day you received the sample (20 points)Results in a tabl

Title: Identification of the unknown bacterial species from a given sample.

Objective: The purpose of this project is to be able to isolate and identify the unknown bacterial species from a sample given to us with morphological characteristics and a series of biochemical tests.

Day 1- date- Received our unknown today. Performed a gram stain and streaked an agar plate.

Day 2- date - Performed a gram stain from an isolated colony on my streak plate. I took a single isolated colony and inoculated it into test tubes filled with Nutrient Broth and placed it in the incubator.

Day 3- date - Performed a gram stain on my Nutrient broth and saw contamination. So, I isolated another single colony to inoculate into Nutrient Broth and placed it in the incubator.

Day 4- date - Because of miscommunication between my partner and I, my Nutrient Broth from the previous day was accidentally thrown out. So, I had to perform another Nutrient Broth and place it in the incubator.

Day 5- date - Performed a gram stain on my nutrient broth to check for contamination. It was not contaminated and ready to perform biochemical tests with. I inoculated all the biochemical tests according to the direction and placed it in the incubator.

Day 6- date - Observed my results and compared it to the given bacteria. Narrowed it down to three bacteria, but some tests were inconsistent with the data. I performed the Hydrogen Sulfite, Methyl Red, Voges Proskauer, Nitrate Reduction, Indole, Citrate and Urease tests again to further down the identification of my bacteria. Since I did not plan on coming back to lab the following Tuesday, I left my tests out in normal temperature.

Day 7- date - After observing the results of these tests I was able to identify my unknown bacteria. They were consistent with the bacteria called Enterobacter aerogenes.

Results: (Use a table format to display the results

Discussion:

On the first day of receiving our unknown bacteria, we did a gram stain to see if it was gram-positive or gram-negative and streaked an agar plate and placed it in the incubator. The results of my gram stain were gram-negative rods. After observing the streak plate and identifying pure isolated colonies, I performed a gram stain on it. The results of my gram stain further proved it was gram-negative rods. I took a single isolated colony and inoculated it into test tubes filled with Nutrient Broth. The streak plate was wrapped in plastic and placed inside a refrigerator to inhibit further bacterial growth while the Nutrient Broth was placed in the incubator to grow. After having sufficient time for the bacteria to grow in Nutrient Broth, I performed a gram stain to match my results with my previous results. Upon performing a gram stain, it was obvious my bacteria were contaminated with gram-positive cocci. So, I did another gram stain on my streak plate to see if there was contamination in there, but there was none. I isolated another single colony to inoculate it into Nutrient Broth and placed it in the incubator. After leaving my Nutrient Broth in the incubator for 24 hours, I performed a gram stain to check for contamination. It was not contaminated and ready to perform biochemical tests with. I inoculated all the biochemical tests according to the direction and placed it in the incubator. After observing my biochemical tests and adding extra chemicals to the experiments that required it, I wrote down my results if they were positive or negative in the Unknowns Chart and compared it to the given bacteria. I narrowed it down to 3 bacteria, but some tests were inconsistent with the data or I just re-did them to make sure I got the accurate result. I performed the Hydrogen Sulfite, Methyl Red, Voges Proskauer, Nitrate Reduction, Indole, Citrate and Urease tests again to further down the identification of my bacteria. Since I did not plan on coming back to lab the following Tuesday, I left my tests out in normal temperature. On Tuesday, I observed my tests. I got the same results for Indole, Hydrogen Sulfite, Methyl Red, citrate, Voges Proskauer and Urease. The only different result I got was Nitrate Reduction. It was sort of cloudy the first day I observed it, so it was hard to tell the results and it was a crucial biochemical test differentiating between Enterobacter aerogenes and Klebsiella pneumonia. Redoing the test, I clearly got positive results because there was no red after zinc to my test tube. This helped me clarify that my bacteria were indeed Enterobacter aerogenes.

After all the tests, I am confident that the sample given to me contains Enterobacter aerogenes.

Significance of the Bacteria:

Enterobacter aerogenes are most frequently found in the gastrointestinal tract and are studied in clinical sites in stool samples. It is a nosocomial infection, meaning it is a hospital-acquired pathogen responsible for nosocomial respiratory tract infections. It exhibits a remarkably high resistance to β-lactam antibiotics during therapy. This could be dangerous to many patients in the hospital because they are more susceptible to getting an infection. Cross-infection can occur via the hands of healthcare workers, contaminated surfaces, during insertion of medical devices and in surgical procedures. It is important to wash hands, have personal protective equipment, and care for the environment by routinely disinfecting surfaces.