This micrograph was taken at 1000X total magnifcation on a brightfield microscope. The subject is Micrococcus luteus cells grown on nutrient agar plates at 37 degrees Celsius. The cells were  stained in a smear of nigrosin negative stain prior to visualization.Image credit: Emily Fox

This micrograph was taken at 1000X total magnifcation on a brightfield microscope. The subject is Neisseria sicca cells grown on nutrient agar at 37 degrees Celsius. The cells were heat-fixed to a slide and Gram stained prior to visualization.Image credit: Emily Fox

This micrograph was taken at 1000X total magnifcation on a brightfield microscope. The subject is Pseudomonas putida cells grown in broth culture overnight at 37 degrees Celsius. The cells were heat-fixed to a slide and Gram stained prior to visualization.Image credit: Emily Fox

This micrograph was taken at 1000X total magnifcation on a brightfield microscope. The subject is Staphylococcus aureus cells grown on nutrient agar at 37 degrees Celsius. The cells were heat-fixed to a slide and Gram stained prior to visualization.Image credit: Emily Fox

This micrograph was taken at 1000X total magnifcation on a brightfield microscope. The subject is Staphylococcus aureus cells grown on nutrient agar at 37 degrees Celsius. The cells were heat-fixed to a slide and Gram stained prior to visualization.Image credit: Emily Fox

This micrograph was taken at 400X total magnifcation on a brightfield microscope. The subject is giemsa-stained Trypanosoma cruzi in a blood smear.Image credit: Emily Fox

This micrograph was taken at 1000X total magnifcation on a brightfield microscope. The subject is human cheek epithelial cells collected fresh with a toothpick. The cells were  stained with methylene blue stain prior to visualization.Image credit: Emily Fox

This micrograph was taken at 1000X total magnifcation on a brightfield microscope. The subject is human cheek epithelial cells collected fresh with a toothpick. The cells were stained with methylene blue stain prior to visualization.Image credit: Emily Fox

This micrograph was taken at 100X total magnifcation on a brightfield microscope. The subject is human cheek epithelial cells collected fresh with a toothpick. The cells were  stained with methylene blue stain prior to visualization.Image credit: Emily Fox

This micrograph was taken at 400X total magnifcation on a brightfield microscope. The subject is human cheek epithelial cells collected fresh with a toothpick. The cells were  stained with methylene blue stain prior to visualization.Image credit: Emily Fox

Spreadsheets across the Curriculum Module. Students use Excel to conduct data analysis and examine bacteria growth in a lake.

This individual or group activity involves reading about the human microbiome, followed by explorations at University of Utah's Genetic Science Learning Center website. It was developed by Ryan Chabarria, Lone Star College- Kingwood; Jennifer Kneafsey, Tulsa Community College; Catherine Parmiter, Estrella Mountain Community College; Natalie Russell, Tarrant County College; and
Andrew Tag, Texas A&M University.

This is a Guided Inquiry Microbiology lab where students can use different plants and bacteria to study mutualism. They observe different growth rates of plants and some root nodules on the roots, thereby demonstrating that the mutualistic relationship between bacteria and legumes benefits growth.

In this activity, students will explore the use of a hemocytometer for counting cells, demonstrate the relationship between the grid seen in the microscope with volume of liquid in suspension and count cells to determine concentration.

In this activity, students will explore the use of a hemocytometer for counting cells, demonstrate the relationship between the grid seen in the microscope with volume of liquid in suspension and count cells to determine concentration.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"The 16S rRNA gene is widely used for bacterial phylogenetics, species delineation, and microbiome research. Historically, researchers assumed that sequence variations in this gene were only due to speciation and inheritance. But there are reports of recombination events and an unreliable phylogenetic signal. To examine this directly, researchers performed four intra-genus analyses and one inter-genus analysis using pathogenic and core human microbiome genera. In all analyses, the 16S rRNA gene was recombinant and subject to horizontal gene transfer. At the intra-genus level, the 16S rRNA gene averaged 50.7% concordance with the species phylogeny, one of the lowest of the core genes. Further analysis found that the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) count was a major factor influencing concordance. 690 ± 110 SNPs would be required to reach 80% concordance, but the average SNP count for the 16S rRNA gene was only 254..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Bile acids play key roles in gut metabolism, cell signaling, and microbiome composition regulation in mammals. Primary bile acids are produced from cholesterol in the liver but are modified by microbes in the gut to form numerous secondary and tertiary bile acids with diverse functions. For decades, gut microbes have been known to transform bile acids through several mechanisms, including deconjugation of the amino acids glycine and taurine by bile salt hydrolases, dehydroxylation of the cholesterol core, and dehydrogenation and epimerization of the cholesterol core. Notably, alterations in the chemistry of the resulting secondary bile acids are linked to several diseases, including cirrhosis, inflammatory bowel disease, and cancer. Recently, an additional transformation mechanism was uncovered in which gut microbes conjugate amino acids to bile acids. The discovery of the resulting microbially conjugated bile acids expands the known diversity of bile acids in the mammalian gut..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Student teams practice water quality analysis through turbidity measurement and coliform bacteria counts. They use information about water treatment processes to design prototype small-scale water treatment systems and test the influent (incoming) and effluent (outgoing) water to assess how well their prototypes produce safe water to prevent water-borne illnesses.

This is a selective media lab that has been remixed to incorporate a virtual lab. I will add stock photos of "results" soon that can be used for the data analysis portion.

Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum module. Students build spreadsheets to calculate and compare bacterial population sizes from lab cultures in antibiotic-free and antibiotic-containing media.