Motility Testing of Mystery Bacteria
Class: Tuesday, October 1st, 2013
Today we prepared for testing to see if our bacteria is motile or non-motile. If bacteria is motile, it is most likely due to flagella that propel it by spinning. There are two ways to test if this occurs.
The first method is using a semisolid agar tube. We used a sterile inoculating needle to remove a small amount of our mystery bacteria and then transferred it by stabbing/ penetrating the semisolid agar tube.
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| Collecting small amount of mystery bacteria |
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| Stabbing/ penetrating the mystery bacteria into the semisolid agar motility tube |
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| Sterilizing inoculating needle |
If growth occurs, then a cloud away from the stab into the agar will appear. This indicates motility because the cells will swim away from the stab. We stored this at 25 degrees Celsius.
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| Appearance of motility test medium |
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| Stabbed with mystery bacteria; we'll see what happens! |
Our second test for motility is the hanging-drop slide. We prepared for this test by collecting a small amount of our mystery bacteria using a sterile inoculating needle and mixing it into broth medium in a test tube.
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| Collecting small amount of mystery bacteria |
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| Mixing mystery bacteria into broth medium |
We stored this at 25 degrees Celsius as well. Next class we'll see what growth happens!
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