BSE312A - Molecular Biology Lab

Microbiology: Introduction to sterilization techniques and certain equipment used for 15sterilization or maintenance of a sterile environment e.g. the autoclave and the laminar flow hood. Learning the basic principles of making solutions used for microbiological and molecular biological experiments, such as buffers, medium for microbial culture etc. Measurement of pH and introduction to the pH meter. Learning how to make liquid and solid medium for microbial culture and the various techniques for growing microbial cultures in liquid and solid medium. Learning the principles and application of a basic staining technique to identify bacterial subtypes e.g. Gram staining. Collection of soils amples and water samples from different locations on campus for identification and quantification of bacteria in these samples through Gram staining and other techniques using McConkey's medium and Triple sugar iron medium. Learning the basic principles of light microscopy and the observation of bacterial cells under a compound microscope.