Microbiology Teaching Support

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Following the links below will take you to step-by-step guides to practical exercises for MICR1010 Mikcrobes and Man. Each link opens a new browser window.

Week 1 - Visualising Bacteria

• Preparing a slide;
• Performing a simple stain.

Week 2 - Fungal Structures

• Microscopic observation of fungi;
• Microscopic structures of selected fungi.

Week 3 - Culturing Bacteria

• Dispensing a broth aseptically;
• Plating out a broth for single colonies;
• Assessing the degree of contamination in a laboratory;
• Separation of mixtures of bacteria;
• Inoculation of a broth culture.

Week 4 - Killing (and Maiming) Bacteria

• Estimating the thermal death point of different bacteria;
• The 'in-use' test.

Week 5 - The Effects of Oxygen and Temperature on Bacterial Growth

• The effects of oxygen and temperature on bacterial growth.

Week 6 - The Microbiology of Natural Environments

• Enumeration of soil bacteria;
• Nitrogen Fixation in Soil: Examination of Rhizobium trifolii;
• Nitrogen Fixation in Soil: culture of Azotobacter chroococcum;
• Examination of a cyanobacterium;
• Examination of iron-rich water.

Weeks 7 and 8 - The Bacteriology of Faeces & Identification of Bacteria

• The bacteriology of faeces;
• Setting up tests for the identification of a member of the genus Bacillus;
• Reading the tests for the identification of a member of the genus Bacillus;
• Identification of members of the family Enterobacteriaceae.

Week 9 - Food MIcrobiology: the Examination of Milk & Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing

• The examination of milk;
• Antimicrobial susceptibility testing.

Weeks 10 and 11 - Virology

• Plaque assay of herpes simplex virus;
• Neutralisation of virus infectivity as a means of virus identification;
• Assay of T4 bacteriophage by the agar layer technique;
• Haemagglutination caused by influenza virus and haemagglutination inhibition used to identify strains of influenza virus;

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