Proteobacteria

The idea of evolution was once taboo for its new ideas at the time, it was seen as wrong because it challenged ideas already established about the world, especially how life came to be. Evolution is a relatively new idea discovered by Charles Darwin. This discovery came to be when Darwin was traveling along the Galapagos islands where he studied finches and discovered that these finches had all originated from one species of finch and eventually became differentiated leading the species to split…

A. fischeriThe overall purpose of this study was to create a genomic library of Aliivibrio fischeri (A. fischeri) thus aiding in creating a restriction map of the lux operon. It also employs typical molecular techniques important for biologists to understand. In this portion of the lab, the chromosomal DNA (chDNA) will be isolated. Its purity will be measured using spectrophotometric analysis. Lastly, the DNA will be digested and verified via gel electrophoresis. A. fischeri is a gram…

Discovering Microbes In A Mini Ecosystem Introduction: Every ecological environment provides with distinct nutrients that allows certain microorganism to survive and grow. Sergei Winogradsky, a Russian microbiologist, developed the Winogradsky Column to grow and investigate microorganisms in a complex biofilm communities. This column will grow different microbes at different gradients that will appear on the column. Depending on the various concentrations of nutrients, choice of soil and water…

P. aeruginosa is a gram-negative non-sporulating bacillus that belongs to the phylum of Proteobacteria. It can adapt and thrive in different niches, ranging from water/soil to plant/animal tissues. Even though it is commonly found in the environment, it frequently causes infections in plants and animals (1). Luke (1862) was the first to report P. aeruginosa in infections as he observed rod-shaped particles in blue-green pus of some infections. This coloration is a hallmark of P.…

Dieting in adolescence due to weight dissatisfaction and insecurities on outer appearances is alarming as it is a growing concern for parents and practitioners. Of the various dieting methods, crash dieting is known to be a popular, yet dangerous fad among females, including young girls. Individuals are driven by celebrity-endorsement, media and social pressures to resort to crash diets despite lack of scientific evidence of efficacy, and studies of their mental and physical harm. What remains…

Clostridium tetani is a bacillus, or rod-shaped bacteria responsible for the often-fatal disease tetanus. The word tetanus originated from the Greek word tetanos, which means to ‘stretch’. It is a Gram-positive bacterium and often appears to be shaped like a tennis racket, drumstick, or club when stained. This unusual appearance is the result of sporulation that occurs within the cell. C. tetani is an obligate anaerobe and relies solely on fermentation. Since it is an obligate anaerobe, this…

The human microbiome project The Human microbiome project was the first step into research about bacteria that is present in the human body, and the association with disease. The project was launched in 2007 and was set out to be a five year program. It was funded by the United States National Institute of Health (NIH) however it involved many specialist from many countries worldwide, the original funding was around $115 million. The main purpose of the project was to analyse “how changes in…