Question: How many diiferent types of bacteria have you grown and have you ever had an accident with bacteria while studying them in the lab or using equipment?

Sabrina Slater answered on 21 May 2020: last edited 21 May 2020 8:05 am

Hey T&T!
Let’s see… I’ve worked quite a few but I’ll give you the top 5 🙂
1) E. coli – normally harmless but can sometimes get hold of toxins that cause disease.
2) Klebsiella pneumoniae – normally lives in your gut but if you’re very sick can travel to your lungs and cause pneumonia. This guy is horrid, he stinks and he can be resistant to lots of antibiotics!
3) Pseudomonas aeruginosa – this guy lives in sinks, showers and soil and will pretty much leave you alone if you’re not already sick. But if you have an open cut or cystic fibrosis (a genetic illness where people find it hard to clear their airways) this guy can be a real nuisance. He’s also green so he’s easy to spot!
4) Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae – usually hangs out in pigs. Surprisingly unstinky, considering…
5) Campylobacter jejuni – this guy has a huge super powerful tail that helps him swim along through your digestive system. He normally contaminates chicken and is all-round bad news. BUT, his tail can push so hard that it would be like me or you being able to swim through honey at the same speed as a train!

We have loads of rules that we have to stick to in the lab that keep us safe, so it’s actually quite difficult to have an accident. Though that is a bit of a boring answer, so I can tell you some things I’ve accidentally discovered? One time I stressed out my E. coli too much by making him produce lots of green fluorescent protein for an experiment I was doing, and he grew into this really loooonnnnnggg spaghetti noodle. Another time I touched one of my petri dishes with my finger and lots of bright yellow bacteria grew where my fingerprint was (these are probably Staphylococcus aureus, which are named after their golden colour in Latin).

Do you know any kinds of bacteria?