MIC 500: FOOD MICROBIOLOGY

LABORATORY REPORT

EXPERIMENT 2: Yeast Important In Foods: Microscopic and Macroscopic Of

Yeasts From Food

NAME : ERNIE NAJWA NAJIHAH BINTI FAIDI

MATRIC NUMBER : 2017283562

GROUP : AS2463C

GROUP MEMBERS :

1. NOOR ALIAH BINTI BAHARI (2017405672)

2. NURUL FATINI BINTI MOHAMAD HALIMIN
(2017405588)
3. NUR NABILAH BINTI JOHARI (2017405596)

LECTURER’S NAME : DR. KHALILAH BINTI ABDUL KHALIL

DATE OF EXPERIMENT : 5TH APRIL 2018

DATE OF SUBMISSION : 12TH APRIL 2018

INTRODUCTION

Yeast have long been considered the organism of choice for the production of alcoholic
beverages, bread, and a large variety of industrial products. All of these products are currently
making a huge impact in the agriculture and food industry. Traditionally, yeasts have been very
important in the food industry and nowadays it would be almost impossible to imagine a world
devoid of fermented products such as wine, beer or cheese. Nevertheless, given their ability to
grow at low pH levels, low water activity and even in the presence of some chemical
preservatives, they become a classic food contaminant that causing a huge loss to the food
industry as well as illnesses to consumers.

OBJECTIVES

1. To allow the students to make pure culture studies of some of the common yeasts
found in foods.
2. To make isolates from naturally contaminated foods.
3. To become familiar with staining and observing yeasts morphology.

MATERIALS AND APPARATUS

1. Pure cultures (on potato dextrose agar plates) of the following genera of yeasts are
provided:
a) Saccharomyces cerevisiae
b) Candida utilis
c) Pichia spp.
d) Hansenula capsulata
e) Rhodotorula gracilis
2. Methylene blue staining
3. Cellophane tape
4. Microscope
5. 10% glycerol
6. Food sample
7. PDA plates and Glucose Yeasts Extract Agar (GYEA) plates
8. Sugar test: glucose, sucrose, maltose, lactose
METHODS

1. Macroscopic examination (Table 2.1)

The cultural characteristics of the given cultures on PDA cultures were studied and
the colonial morphology observed are:

a) Colour of the colonies

b) Texture
c) Smell
d) Distribution

2. Microscopic examination (Table 2.2)

A heat fixed film was prepared. The film was then covered with methylene blue solution
for about 1 to 2 minutes before it was tilted to allow the excess stain to run off into the
staining tube and was gently washed with the water bottle. Next, the slide was allowed
to air dry. By using 40x microscopic lens as well as the immersion oil, the stained of
the yeasts was then examined. The observation covered was:
a) Shape typical yeasts cells
b) Budding cells
c) Ascospore
d) etc.

The observation was then recorded in Table 2.2

3. A loop full of the yeasts suspension provided was inoculated into different sugar broths
and was incubated for 2 to 3 days at room temperature. Any acid and gas produce was
noted and tabulated in Table 2.3 and Table 2.4.
4. A loop full of the food sample was streak on GYEA and PDA plates respectively. After
being incubated for 2 to 3 days at room temperature, the yeasts were observed
microscopically and the data was tabulated in Table 2.5.
DISCUSSION

Based on this experiment, it has been found that most yeasts reproduce asexually. The
most common process is known as “budding,” when a small bud forms on the parent cell. The
parent nucleus splits in two and the daughter nucleus moves into the bud cell, which continues
to grow until it splits from the parent cell. Yeast is a fungus and needs a supply of energy for
its living and growth. Yeasts can produce energy aerobically with oxygen or anaerobically
without oxygen. In anaerobic respiration, it convert carbohydrates to carbon dioxide and
alcohols to produce energy. Yeasts also obtain carbon from hexose sugars. They use oxygen to
release the energy from sugar in the process called "respiration". So, the more sugar there is,
the more active the yeast will be and the faster its growth. However, if oxygen is short, then
yeast can still release energy from sugar, but in these conditions, the by products are alcohol
and carbon dioxide. This carbon dioxide gas which makes the bubbles in dough causing the
dough to rise. It is found that Candida utilis is the most active yeast that ferment sugar.
Fermentation is chemical process by which molecules such as glucose are broken down
anaerobically. More broadly, fermentation is the foaming that occurs during the manufacture
of wine and beer, the frothing results from the evolution of carbon dioxide gas. Thus, when the
yeast produced bubble, it is known that the gas has been produced resulting from the
fermentation process. In this experiment, other than PDA plates, the GYEA plates was also
being used. Glucose Yeast Extract Agar (GYEA) is a medium used for the identification of
mesophilic and thermophilic aerobic bacteria in food and other materials by promoting
sporulation. It is prepared according to the formula described by Evans and Niven and Rogosa
et al and is used for enumeration and cultivation of Lactobacilli in pharmaceutical preparations.
The medium contains a variety of salts like sulphates, phosphates to support the growth of
Lactobacilli. Necessary nitrogenous nutrients for Lactobacilli are provided by peptic digest of
animal tissue and yeast extract. Glucose is the source of fermentable carbohydrate. The metallic
salts are sources of ions essential for the replication of lactic acid bacteria
CONCLUSION

This experiment is conducted to allow the students to make pure culture studies of some
of the common yeasts found in foods as well as to make isolates from naturally contaminated
foods. This study is also focus to familiarized student with the staining process and observing
mould morphology. The objectives of this experiment is successfully achieved.

REFERENCES

1. https://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/CAT86201020/PDF
2. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/293605511_YEAST_DESCRIPTION_AND
_STRUCTURE
3. https://www.britannica.com/science/fermentation