Ubiquity Of Microorganisms

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NAME: Mmoloki B Mmalane ID: 201001804 COURSE: BIO216 PRACTICAL 2: UBIQUITY OF MICROORGANISMS DATE: 16-02-2012 INVESTIGATING THE UBIQUITY OF MICROORGANISMS INTRODUCTION The phrase, “ubiquity of microorganisms”, refers to the concept that microorganisms are everywhere. Some microorganisms occupy a diversity of niches, e.g Achaea can thrive in hot springs where temperatures are extremely high, and other microorganisms can live in solid rocks (Achey, 1999). Microorganisms are very diverse, they include bacteria, fungi, Achaea and protists. Bacteria can live everywhere because there are so many different species all adapted to different environments, and can colonize that environment. They are microscopic microorganisms that comprise either a single cell or cell clusters. Some microorganisms are beneficial, whereas some are harmful. According to Pelczar (1977), harmless and beneficial bacteria outnumber the harmful varieties. Microbes are vital to the environment because they participate in the earth’s element cycles such as carbon and nitrogen cycles. In this study, the ubiquitous nature of microorganisms was investigated and appreciated. In order to obtain pure cultures from these mixed colonies in the environment, several techniques are available to use. In this experiment, pour plate and spread plate techniques were employed to obtain pure cultures from the soil sample. Microorganisms from the mouth and hand were obtained by rubbing sterile cotton tipped applicator sticks on the teeth and palm of the hand and the rubbing the applicator sticks on the surface of nutrient agar and mannitol salt agar, respectively. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine and appreciate the type of microorganisms found in soils, mouth and hands and to estimate their quantities. METHODS In this experiment, microorganisms were harnessed from the body (mouth

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