Title of Lab: Winogradsky Column Construction

Introduction Purpose: to grow colonies of multi-hued microbes in a bottle in order to study ecological succession in a microbiological community Question: Under which conditions do various color bacteria thrive? What type of bacteria are expected to grow? Research / Background information: In the 188 !s" a #ussian microbiologist named $ergei Winograds%y discovered that water mud poured into a tall bottle and placed in the sun turned many different colors& 'any %inds of bacteria live in mud& (e found that by adding a few simple things" such as cheese or paper" he could control which colors appeared& )uring the process of decomposition" all the oxygen near the bottom of the container is used up& #ed" orange and green bacteria that grow near the bottom of the column are less tolerant or completely intolerant of oxygen& *hey!re photosynthetic+ but they also get energy from hydrogen sulfide" the gas that smells li%e rotten eggs& *hese oxygen-phobic bacteria have crucial roles to play in the ecosystem& $ome ta%e part in the global sulfur cycle& ,thers convert nitrogen into forms needed by plants& -either cows nor termites would en.oy their cellulose-based diets without the helpful bacteria in their guts that digest the cellulose for them& $ome bacteria are decomposers that get nutrients by brea%ing down organic materials things li%e the paper or grass clippings& ,ther bacteria are photosynthetic and aerobic& /lue-green bacteria near the top of the mud column use light" carbon from carbon dioxide" and hydrogen from water to ma%e carbohydrates and give off oxygen .ust li%e plants& *he carbon dioxide they need is released when the decomposers brea% down the paper and grass clippings& *he surface layer of the column may produce an aerobic li0uid air biofilm 1pellicle2 that can be sampled by dipping a cover slip into the column and lifting a portion of the film from the water& Procedure: *he following lin%s will ta%e you to various procedures& 3hoose the one you li%e best& 4ou can also search the net for additional ones& http://www.exploratorium.edu/theworld/glow/grow.html http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/AEPC/WWC/1991/microbial.html http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/ /e/ el!/biofilms/winograds"y.html

Constructing a Wynogradsky Column

assignment 5 6616666

*his analytic rubric is used to verify specific tas%s performed when producing a lab report& If the tas% has been appropriately completed" all points are awarded&
#ubric$found$at:$http://www.howe."1%.o".us/& imas"ew/e'alab.htm

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coring Criteria *he purpose and 0uestion to be answered during the lab is stated&

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#esearch references used to prepare the lab are listed& /ac%ground Lab #ntroduction information about the column given (There are always research references.) 15 points *he hypothesis is a tentative explanation and clearly shows it is based on research& (Not just a wild guess.) 7rocedures are written during pre-lab preparation and clearly state what is planned written in such a way that others could accurately duplicate the experiment& (Write either a procedure or a method.) Procedures '& points 'ethod is clearly written and explained& *here are no 8understood8 procedures& (Such as: get out equipment or turn on gas.)

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'easurements and calculations" when re0uired" show proper units& (bser"ations (Write these as obser ations on the lab report.) 15 points )ata and observations of experiment are clearly recorded& (State what happened in the e!periment) Conclusion 20 points $ummari9e the essential lab data& $how how the essential data answers the lab 0uestion& 1"!plain why the e!periment happened the way that it did.2 What could be done differently to enhance the experiment? :xplanation of what happened and the %ind of microorganisms found in the column& )iscuss interaction between the microorganisms and Presentation how they depend on one another& 20 points ; diagram of the essential apparatus used in the experiment is drawn& (There is always something to draw.) Pictures 10 points 7ictures showing the set-up and development over time of the column Total Points $tudents are expected to honestly evaluate their own wor%& If the difference between the student evaluation and the teacher evaluation is more than 1 points" < points will be deducted from the teacher!s score when the grade is recorded&

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