Microbiology KP notes Flashcards
(725 cards)
what is the procedure for the Gram stain?
- apply a primary stain such as crystal violet (purple) to heat fixed bacteria
- add iodine which binds to crystal violet and helps fix it to the cell wall
- decolorise with ethanol or acetone
- counterstain with safranin (pink)
what are the results of the Gram stain?
- in gram-negative bacteria, the decoloriser interacts with the lipids and cells lose their outer lipopolysaccharide membrane
and the crystal violet-iodide (CV-I) complexes, thus they appear pink with counterstain - in gram-positive bacteria, the decoloriser dehydrates the cell
wall and the CV-I gets trapped in the multi-layered peptidoglycan resulting in a purple appearance with counterstain
Gram positive = purple
Gram negative = pink
what is the Ziehl-Neelsen stain? what are the results?
- Gram stain can differentiate most bacteria
- but mycobacteria e.g. TB are acid-fast bacilli that do not take up the gram stain
- instead they take up a stain called Ziehl-Neelsen
acid-fast bacilli = red e.g. Mycobacterium
non acid-fast bacilli = blue e.g. E.coli
what is the catalase test? what are the results?
• essentially add H2O2 to bacteria and see for bubbling reaction (positive reaction)
• used to differentiate between staphylococci
and streptococci
• Staphylococci are catalase positive
• Streptococci are catalase negative
• many Gram negative bacteria e.g. E.coli and fungi (aspergillus spp.) are catalase positive
what is the coagulase test? what are the results?
- coagulase is an enzyme produced by Staphylococcus. aureus that converts (soluble) fibrinogen in plasma to (insoluble) fibrin
- other staphylococci do not produce coagulase, e.g. S. epidermis
- thus this test distinguishes S. aureus (coagulase positive) from other staphylococci (coagulase negative)
- S. aureus is coagulase positive = clumping
- other staphylococci are coagulase negative = no clumping
what is the haemolysis test?
- haemolysis is the ability of bacteria to break down red blood cells in blood agar
- it requires the expression of haemolysin
- very useful for classifying streptococci
what is alpha haemolysis?
an indistinct zone of partial destruction of red blood cells (RBCs) appears around the colony, often accompanied by a greenish to brownish discolouration of the medium (opaque)
what are examples of alpha haemolytic organisms?
- Streptococcus pneumoniae (can cause lobar pneumonia & meningitis) is alpha haemolytic
- S. oralis
- S. milleri
- S. sanguis
- many oral streptococci are alpha haemolytic
- some alpha haemolytic species can cause serious pathology such as infective endocarditis - caused by viridans streptococci
- S. intermedius is also alpha haemolytic
what is beta haemolysis?
a clear, colourless zone appears around the colonies, in which the red blood cells have undergone complete lysis
what are examples of beta haemolytic organisms?
- Streptococci pyogenes, Streptococci agalactiae and many other streptococci are beta haemolytic
- many other bacteria besides streptococci can be beta
haemolytic including S. aureus and listeria monocytogenes
how can S. aureus be differentiated from other beta haemolytic organisms?
it’s important to differentiate staphylococcus aureus and this can be done by:
• looking at appearance on blood agar - will be creamy
yellow
• also will have a positive coagulase test
how can you differentiate between different beta haemolytic bacteria?
by using Lancefield grouping (detecting surface antigens)
what is Lancefield grouping?
- used to differentiate between beta haemolytic bacteria
- detects surface antigens
- A, C, G = tonsillitis and skin infection
- B = neonatal sepsis and meningitis
- D = UTI/enterococci
what is gamma haemolyis?
no haemolysis of RBCs
what are examples of organisms showing gamma haemolysis?
- enterococcus faecalis
- Staphylococcus saprophyticus
- Staphylococcus epidermidis
- S. bovis
- S. mutans
- S. milleri
what is the optochin test?
- place optochin soaked disc on agar and watch bacterial growth
- test to differentiate between streptococcus pneumoniae (causes lobar pneumonia and meningitis - sensitive to optochin so will be a clear zone around the disc
- Viridans streptococci (infective endocarditis) and other alpha haemolytic streptococci are resistant to it so there will be growth around the disc
what are results of the optochin test?
sensitive = Streptococci pneumoniae; clear zone of no growth around disc
resistant = Viridans streptococci; growth around disc
what is the oxidase test?
- tests if micro-organism contains a cytochrome oxidase - an enzyme of the bacterial electron transport chain
- all bacteria that are oxidase positive are aerobic
- bacteria that are oxidase negative may be either aerobic or anaerobic
what are some oxidase positive bacteria?
- P. aeruginosa
- V. cholerae
- Campylobacter e.g. C. jejuni
- Helicobacter
what are the results of the oxidase test?
- oxidase positive = blue - bacteria is aerobic e.g. V. cholerae
- oxidase negative = no colour change - bacteria may be aerobic or anaerobic
what does MacConkey agar grow? what are its uses?
- only grows Gram negative bacilli
- good at differentiating between lactose-fermenting and non-lactose fermenting Gram negative bacilli such as enterobacteria (gut coliforms)
- bile salts present on this agar inhibit Gram positive bacteria and inhibit the swarming of a Gram negative bacterium Proteus spp.
how does MacConkey agar show lactose/non-lactose fermenting bacteria?
has a pH indicator on it so bacteria that ferment lactose and thus produce acid will make the agar appear pink/red
what are some lactose fermenting bacteria that can be identified on MacConkey agar?
- E. coli
- Klebsiella pneumonia
- Enterobacter spp.
what are some non-lactose fermenting bacteria that can be identified on MacConkey agar?
- Salmonella spp.
- Shigella spp.