Experiment 1: Culturing Microorganism from the Environment

colonies

a population of cells which arises from a single cell growing on a solid medium

colony

a single cell growing on a solid medium

colony morphology

characteristics of a colony such as their shape, the form of the colony’s margin, the elevation, and the pigmentation of the colony

T/F: genetically different organisms can share the same colony morphology

true

contaminant

an unwanted organism which has been accidentally introduced into the culture

hyphae

cellular fungi filaments that look like branches as part of normal growth bacteria like Streptomyces

mycelium

network of hyphae formed by the growth of species like Streptomyces and fungi

T/F: the type and amount of nutrients present in the medium will not influence the size, shape, and even the color of a colony

false! the type and amount of nutrients present in the medium will influence the size, shape, and even the color of a colony

what areas were swabbed in this experiment?

• floor

• hand

• sink

• clothes

• air

• lab bench

• nose