Run and Tumble

Last night’s lab was spent learning about and inoculating more selective and differential media. We were mainly differentiating based on carbohydrate catabolism using fermentation tubes, MRVP broth, starch agar, OF-glucose media, and Simmon’s citrate. We’ll see the results on Tuesday.

We’re building up a toolbox of techniques we can use to work through a d-key and identify bugs in an unknown culture.

There’s three things I take away from all this.

It’s just incredibly awesome to see how flexible bacteria are when it comes to metabolism. Heck, some of the tests are time sensitive because a bug will rewire itself to take better advantage of the changing biochemical landscape. No more glucose? Ok, let me just turn on my lactose fermentation machinery.  It’s a pain in the ass for diagnostics, but really neat.  If it can be nommed, there’s a bug out there that can do it. Seriously, Pseudomonas aeruginosa can eat phenol. Not just degrade, but actually use it as the sole carbon source.  We usually use phenol to kill bugs, not feed them.

The manner of thinking used to create these tests and to work through a d-key is strikingly similar to that which I use when debugging code, it’s very comfortable and feels ‘right’.

I love that half the stuff is named So-and-so’s something; it feels like I’m acquiring old school D&D spells. Nerd. Quick, which is in the lab and which is in the AD&D Player’s Handbook ?  Tenser’s floating disc, Masson’s trichrome