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BLG151 F2016

Lab report 2: Growth and Enumeration of Bacteria

Read pages vi to vii (Writing Formal Laboratory Reports) in the lab manual and follow
the instructions.

Specific instructions:

Take a look at scientific publications to get an idea of the scientific language used
to report experimental results (e.g. http://aem.asm.org/content/74/22/6918.long;
http://aem.asm.org/content/80/24/7659.long;
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7447444 ).

Also, pay attention to any additional information you may have received from your
TAs!

Lab reports should be double spaced.

Please use font size 12 and 1 margins at the top, bottom, left and right.

Do not exceed the recommended number of pages or words, when indicated! Note: TAs
will not mark pages exceeding the indicated page limits.

Pages must be numbered (Page 1 is the page following the title page).

Use at least two external references (e.g. your text book and a publication) in addition to
the lab manual. You can use different search engines to look for suitable publications
using appropriate keywords (e.g. NCBI PubMed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed ).

Title page:
Title
Authors name
Student number
Lab section
Course number
Date submitted
TAs name

Abstract: maximum 250 words, briefly summarizing the objectives of the report, methods used,
and results generated. Example: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7447444

Introduction (5 pages maximum):


Overall goal
Objectives for each experiment
Brief background on:
Bacterial growth curve, deferent phases in the bacterial growth curve.
Estimation of microbial numbers: summarize the concepts that are discussed in lab manual
Briefly summarize the 4 techniques (including turbidimetric estimation method) which were
used for enumeration of bacteria.

Remember to use and cite references.

Materials and Methods

Brief descriptions of the experimental procedures used, instead of explaining in great


detail the step by step procedure; simply refer to the lab manual.

Note any changes made in the experiment.

List the bacterial strains used in the experiment, writing the name out in full with the
abbreviated form in brackets if you wish to use the abbreviated for throughout the lab
report.

Use scientific names correctly and pay attention to proper format.

Materials and methods section should be written in past tense and in third person
singular (no personal pronouns I and we)

Brief outline of experiments performed:

For experiments where you did not generate your own data, briefly explain what you did
with the data that was provided for you.
Results:

Where applicable, summarize your results in the form of Tables.

Pay attention to proper legends for tables and figures!


o In general, headings for tables appear at the top of the table whereas figure
headings appear below the actual figure.

Concise, but complete, description of the results obtained should be included in


paragraph form.

All tables and figures should be numbered and titled with descriptive titles. For tables,
table headings should be at the top of the table and for figures, the headings should be
on the bottom of the figure.

Generation of growth curve


o Include the table (that was provided for Lab 4), include the bacterial growth
curve on the semi log graph paper (that was provided for Lab 4) and explain
what it shows. On the semi log paper, plot CFU/ml (y-axis) against time and
transmittance, both on the x-axis; the graph show 2 curves on the semi log paper
sheet.
o In addition, use excel to generate the curves (for comparison purposes).
o Do not forget to provide appropriate captions for all figures. You can write a
caption for the semi log graph on the bottom of the paper sheet.
o Show calculations: number of generations, mean growth rate, generation time.
Do not forget to include units.

Pour plate method


o The results should include a table. The data needs to include the number of
colonies counted, dilution, volume inoculated and CFU/mL.
o Describe the types of colonies observed.
o Show a sample calculation for CFU/mL, do not forget to include units.

Membrane filtration method


o Describe colonies growing on filter.
o Calculate CFU/ml, show a sample calculation.

Most probable number method


o Summarize results (use a table, if appropriate)
o Describe what the culture in the different tubes looked like (turbid, clear, etc.)
o Interpret results using table 4.2 from the lab manual
o Calculate cells/ml, show a sample calculation.

Turbidimetric estimation
o At absorbance 1.0, what will be the CFU/mL?
o what is the number of CFU/mL at the percent transmittance that you measured
for the E. coli culture?

Discussion:
Discuss what your results mean and do not forget to refer to the tables/figures presented in the
experimental results:
Remember to cite references.

Note: Even though the turbidity measurement was not done by you, the theoretical
aspects of the turbidity measurements should be discussed.

Discuss briefly:
o Growth of bacteria, growth curve.
o The importance of bacterial enumeration of a sample.

o Differentiate between viable and total count.


o Which methods evaluate viable (or living) cells only? Which methods evaluate
both live and dead cells (total count)?
o Describe pour plate technique plates (CFU/mL, why different types of
colonies?).
o What is the assumption for the pour plate method?
o Why do you need to use plates with 30-300 colonies?
o Discuss results for membrane filtration (CFU/mL, colony morphology, why
colonies were red on the filter?).
o Is the MPN method quantitative and why / why not?
o Compare results obtained from the 3 different enumeration techniques.
o Which one is the most/least accurate technique? Under what circumstances each
technique would be used?
o Mention advantages and disadvantages of each enumeration method (including
turbidimetric estimation).

Conclusions:
Summarize final results/outcomes, relate to objectives.

References: Should be in numerical or alphabetical order, punctuation complete, and


consistency between references. For the examples of references, please check Writing formal
laboratory reports, References, page vii in the lab manual.

Please pay special attention to the technical writing of the reports. Please check to make sure to
eliminate typographical errors. The TAs marking your report will also evaluate your report based
on the following characteristics:

Control of Language
Description of Characteristics
Excellent

grammar and spelling are consistently excellent; use of language is appropriate

Good

grammar and/or spelling are satisfactory, but need some attention to detail; use
of language is appropriate

Adequate

grammar and/or spelling are poor but the paper is comprehensible; use of
language is not appropriate for a journal article

Inadequate -

grammar and/or spelling are so poor that the paper is incomprehensible without

Unacceptable extensive revision; use of language is inappropriate for a journal article

And
Writing Style
The key qualities in scientific writing are the 4 Cs: clarity, concision, completeness, and
correctness
Description of Characteristics
Excellent

Clear and concise; main points always clearly and logically addressed and linked
to the objectives of the report

Good

Clear; making an effort to be concise; main points usually clearly and logically
addressed but might not always be linked to stated objectives.

Adequate

Clear but not concise; main points usually clearly addressed. Extraneous
material is included.

Inadequate -

Unclear and/or overly verbose; does not directly address main points; objectives

Unacceptable unclear or not addressed. Large sections of the report dwell on extraneous
topics, without really explaining the results and what they mean.

Note- marks are assigned as follows:


Excellent 4-5
Good 3-4
Adequate 2-3
Inadequate-Unacceptable 0-1

The two above aspects (writing style and control of language) will be averaged to be worth 5%
of the total eligible points for lab report 1. The purpose of this type of evaluation is to provide
feedback on your scientific writing style.

The Student Learning Centre offers writing support:


http://www.ryerson.ca/studentlearningsupport/writing-support/ .

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