You searched for: Microbiology Learning Activities

Supplier: EDVOTEK

In this experiment, students see a blue colour change in transformed cells due to the switching on of a gene. The pGAL plasmid gives a blue colour dye due to the production of the β-galactosidase protein by the lacZ gene. IPTG is not required in this experiment since pGAL contains the complete lacZ gene.

Supplier: EDVOTEK

In this experiment, transformed cells take up a plasmid containing the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) gene. The GFP gene was isolated from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria. Transformed colonies expressing the GFP protein are visibly green in normal light but will fluoresce brightly when exposed to longwave UV light.

Supplier: EDVOTEK

When bacteria are used to make medicinally useful proteins by transformation, the protein of interest must be separated from all of the other cellular proteins. In this experiment, the unique fluorescent properties of GFP and BFP are used as an assay during their purification from an E. coli extract. The column fractions containing GFP or BFP are identified by fluorescence and then purified. As an optional activity, purified protein fractions can be separated by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) to estimate the purity and size of the GFP and BFP proteins.

Supplier: EDVOTEK

The Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria is used extensively in all areas of science. Many organisms have been transformed with the GFP gene, the gene responsible for bioluminescence in jellyfish. It has proven to be so useful that scientists have mutated it to produce Blue Fluorescent Protein (BFP). In this simple experiment, students transform bacteria either by GFP, BFP or both.

Supplier: G-Biosciences

Bacterial conjugation is a naturally occurring process that allows the transfer of DNA from one bacterium to another, which allows the transfer of genetic traits, particularly drug resistance. The kit contains two bacteria with different drug resistance genes and all the tools for students to study bacterial conjugation. This kit teaches the difference between bacterial genomic DNA and the transferable plasmid DNA and the mechanisms of bacterial conjugation. Students will also learn important basic microbiological techniques, including bacterial growth in liquid broth and on solid agar plates, antibiotic selection of bacteria and important aseptic techniques.

Supplier: EDVOTEK

Educational Materials, Microbiology, Application: Microbiology, ReadyPour™ LB agar with ampicillin

Supplier: EDVOTEK

Educational Materials, Microbiology, Application: Microbiology

Supplier: G-Biosciences

This kit teaches aseptic handling techniques and cultivation of bacteria in liquid culture media and on solid phase agar plates. This kit is designed to educate students about the various stages of the bacterial growth cycle, i.e. lag, log or exponential, stationary and decline or death phases. The kit also teaches the importance of growing bacteria on solid phase agar plates to isolate single colonies of bacteria. This lab activity involves preparation of culture medium and solid agar plates.

Supplier: G-Biosciences

Antibiotics play a crucial role in the manipulation, screening and killing of bacteria in a range of biotechnology processes. This kit specifically teaches the basic principles of antibiotics, bacterial resistance and susceptibility. Students learn and understand the use of antibiotic resistance in screening for infectious diseases. Utilising a bacterial strain, students learn the effects of different antibiotics and visualise bacterial sensitivity and resistance to the supplied antibiotics. This method involves the use of filter paper discs impregnated with a specified concentration of antibiotics on the surface of an agar plate containing microbial cells. This kit will enable students to analyse the inhibitory effects of different antibiotics on selected bacterial cells and then determine which antibiotic is the most suitable to treat a bacterial infection.

Supplier: G-Biosciences

The Gram staining method was first described in 1844 by the Danish bacteriologist Hans Christian Gram, after whom the test was named. The Gram staining test for bacteria is one of the most important tests in microbiology and is often one of the first tests performed in the identification of bacteria. The Gram staining method utilises the properties of bacterial cell walls and the stain crystal violet. Gram-positive microorganisms have a higher peptidoglycan and lower lipid content than Gram-negative bacteria in their cell walls and this makes them capable of retaining the Gram stain. This kit is supplied with two strains of bacteria and all the necessary components to carry out the Gram staining.