Unknown Microorganism Lab Report

Discussion The various test that were completed had supporting evidence that deduced the identity of the unknown microorganism. A gram stain was performed on the bacterium and a purple color was seen under the microscope. The purple hue that was acquired by the unknown microorganism indicated that the organism had a thick peptidoglycan layer meaning that the bacterium was gram positive. Looking under the microscope helped to identify the cellular arrangement of the bacterium which was sphere shaped, in clusters and thus narrowing the unknown microorganism to the Coccus species. Looking at the other two microorganisms, E. aerogenes would appear pink/red under the microscope and would be considered gram negative, so it was ruled out. M. luteus …show more content…
PCR is used to magnify the 16S rRNA gene and is used in molecular biology to make thousands of copies of the magnified DNA. There are three main stages that the PCR carries out, the first is denaturing when the double-stranded DNA is separated into two strands. Second, annealing which enables the DNA primers to attach to the DNA when the temperature is lowered. Lastly, extending which is when a new strand of DNA is created by the Taq polymerase enzyme when the temperature is raised. This process is run in cycles 29 times and takes approximately 4 hours to complete. The PCR test was completed prior to the testing and was then given to each student to perform gel electrophoresis. The gel electrophoresis technique is used to separate DNA fragments and the size of the fragments determines how fast the fragments will move through the gel. This process is used to ensure that the PCR worked. To analyze the PCR, a sample mixed with the PCR and loading dye is loaded into a well in the ladder. Once the samples are loaded, the mini gel system can be turned on and begin the process of separating the DNA fragments. Once the machine had run for 30 minutes, the gel was observed in UV light to see if the PCR sample that was created