Ashley Ruiz BMS 501 Section 4 Lab Report

MSA MSA allows the growth of Staphylococcus, while inhibiting the growth of other organisms due to its high salt concentration. Staphylococcus is able to ferment mannitol, and the pH indicator phenol red is included in the medium to detect acid production. It changes from red to yellow in the presence of acid. Staphylococcus aureus ferments mannitol and turned the MSA yellow, but staphylococcus epidermidis, streptococcus agalactiae, and enterococcus faecalis do not ferment the mannitol or produce acid. BAP BAP is supplemented with 5% sheeps blood, and organisms can be identified by their ability to breakdown red blood cells. Staphylococcus aureus had a beta hemolysis pattern, which means there is a complete breakdown of red blood cells. This can be observed with a clear halo formation around the culture, and looks like a lack of growth. Staphylococcus epidermidis and Streptococcus agalactiae have an alpha hemolysis pattern, which is a partial breakdown of red blood cells. There is a greenish halo around culture. Enterococcus faecalis has a gamma hemolysis pattern. This means there is no breakdown of red blood cells and there are no clearing zones around the culture. The gamma hemolysis looks like a lot of growth around the culture. Bile Esculin Slant Bile Esculin differentiates organisms based on their ability to hydrolyze esculin. Hydrolysis is a form of chemical decomposition in which a compound is split into other compounds by reacting with water. The agar turns black or dark brown if the organism hyrdolyzes esculin. Enterococcus faecalis is the only organism in this lab that was positive for esculin hydrolysis. The agar remained yellow when fish tail streaked with the other organisms. Catalase Test Hyrdrogen peroxide is toxic to cells, but some organisms are able to break it down with the enzyme catalase. If the organism has this ability, the hydrogen peroxide will be broken down into H20 + 02, and bubbles will be produced. Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis were both positive for the enzyme catalase. Staphylococcus epidermidis and Streptococcus agalactiae were both negative.

Throat and Nose Swabs The nasal swab was done on MSA, and it remained pink, which means that there was no presence of Staphylococcus aureus in the nose. This is known because staphylococcus aureus is the only organism in this lab that has the ability to ferment mennitol and produce acid, which would have turned the MSA yellow. The throat swab was done on BAP and it turned completely brown. This means that there was a lot of Enterococcus faecalis present in the throat, and there was complete breakdown of the red blood cells, or beta hemolysis.