Laboratory for Microbiology

Introduction: The laboratory is accomplished using a powerful software simulation of the work done in a microbiology lab to perform biochemical tests and identify bacteria, VirtualUnknown™ Microbiology.  While wet labs remain the best option, this virtual laboratory provides the best alternative.  Each lab begins with an unknown sample and a corresponding medical case.  Each lab ends with the identification of the bacterium in the sample and submission of virtual laboratory report.  In the end, you use the same techniques used by professional microbiologists to examine patient samples.

The laboratories for this course are much the same as laboratories accomplished on any college campus except that students work alone at a distance from campus.  The laboratories are at a level used for microbiology majors and pre-health science majors at challenging institutions.

For more information, click on the following links:

• How does the laboratory work?
• What do I learn in Laboratory?
• How are laboratories graded?
• What happens if a student messes up an experiment?
• A list of Laboratory Experiments
  
• To download a hands on tutorial and demonstration of VirtualUnknown™ Microbiology
• To look at a sample laboratory report

How does the laboratory work?

Most units of study will include a laboratory.  You are assigned an unknown microbe at the beginning of each laboratory session and it is then up to you to perform tests in order to identify your mystery microbe! These simulated tests, like the ones actually used in the lab, will improve your ability to identify microorganisms.  The labs will demonstrate the logic and judgment used for identifying bacteria.  During the laboratory you will choose the media and chemical tests necessary to progressively eliminate all other bacteria except the unknown bacterium.

Answers to lab questions are submitted through the course Blackboard site and graded automatically.

What do I learn in Laboratory? These labs teach a student to:

• Select the proper medium to perform a specific test.
• Perform an aseptic transfer.
• Inoculate the medium correctly.
• Incubate the medium under the proper conditions.
• Add correct reagents, when appropriate.
• Interpret and record results.
• Make decisions on which additional tests are needed.

How are laboratories graded? Questions are answered as the student works through the lab.  The answers are then submitted through the Blackboard course site and graded automatically.  Student knowledge of the concepts is tested in the lab section of the Final Exam.

What happens if a student messes up an experiment? Students can view a lab report that is automatically generated by the program to see if there results are correct.  Experiments can easily be repeated.

A list of Laboratory Experiments for Microbiology for the Health Professions

• Aseptic technique
• Basic microscopy
• Bacterial morphology, staining and motility
• Growth media and patterns of growth
• Biochemical testing to identify bacteria
• Bacterial exoenzymes
• Antibiotic sensitivity testing
• Pathogenic Gram negative bacteria
• Pathogenic Gram positive bacteria
• Determining bacterial unknowns
• Food microbiology
• Water microbiology