Joel Jose Punnakottil Saturday, November 17, 2012 Lab report 6 MICROBIAL PHYSIOLOGY

For objective, material and method please refer exercise 7 of laboratory manual. The main objective of this exercise is to perform and understand Catalase test, carbohydrate utilization and fermentation test, casein hydrolysis and starch hydrolysis.

Results: Table 1. Results for catalase test and casein hydrolysis Test species S. aureus S. epidermis E.coli Catalase test +ive + ive - ive Casein hydrolysis n/a -ive - ive Starch hydrolysis n/a - ive + ive

Table 2. Results of carbohydrate utilization and fermentation test

microorganism S. epidermis E.coli

Sucrose n/a n/a

Lactose -ive ; aerobic + ive

Maltose -Ive; aerobic +ive

Mannitol - ive; no reaction +ive

Discussion: 1. Discuss the importance of catalase test and casein hydrolysis

Catalase test: Catalase and hydrogen peroxide is used for a specific testing that is very important in the field of microbiology. Staphylococcus is a catalase positive bacteria and this catalase oriented test is very useful in differentiating whether streptococcus or staphylococcus aureus is present in the bacterial sample. Catalase is an enzyme that splits H2O2 and releases O2. If a physical reaction takes place between the bacteria and the hydrogen peroxide solution (gas bubbles will form), then there is a good chance it is staphylococcus because it is a catalase positive bacteria.in the case of streptococcus there is no reaction between hydrogen peroxide and the sample. Casein hydrolysis: Casein hydrolysis is very important in the field of microbiology because this test determines the ability of microorganisms to produce proteinases, a group of enzymes that break proteins into amino acids. 2. Based on fermentation test, which of the test bacteria are enteric species?

E.coli is a rapid lactose fermenter. Conclusion: This lab was very interesting. My team found excellent results. I learned how to do a catalase test, carbohydrate utilization and fermentation test, casein hydrolysis and starch hydrolysis. The Catalase enzyme is one of the most amazing enzymes in the body because it has a very important, very sensitive task. The task of catalase enzyme is to break down the element of hydrogen peroxide, which is a by-product of various metabolic processes and can be poisonous to the body. When hydrogen peroxide is found within in the body, the Catalase enzyme immediately triggers a chemical reaction that destabilizes hydrogen peroxide and separates it into two different entities, water and oxygen. Water and oxygen are the two most basic necessities when it comes to any living organism. It is very interesting to know that something like hydrogen peroxide, which is harmful to us, can also be beneficial in discovering diseases and bacteria that can harm us as well.