Bacterial enzymes

Many of the enzymes used industrially are produced by culturing bacteria. These investigations explore bacterial digestive enzymes and show how their activity can be measured.

Experiments

• Standard technique: Aseptic techniques
  Tools covered: wire loop, pipettes, cotton wool plugs. Procedures covered: inoculating plates, inoculating slopes, inoculating cultures, using a wire loop, using a pipette, flaming necks of bottles and test tubes, and disinfecting surfaces.
• Standard technique: Pouring an agar plate
  Simple instructions for pouring an agar plate.
• Digestion of starch: microbes
  Compare the starch-digesting activity of two bacterial cultures with that of simple amylase solution.
• Digestion of protein: microbes
  Compare the protein-digesting activity of two microbial cultures with that of simple trypsin solution.
• Standard technique: Incubating and viewing plates
  Notes on handling plates safely: incubation temperatures, labelling plates, taping lids on, slowing growth and killing cultures.
• Standard technique: Making up nutrient agars
  Details of how to make up different culture media for culturing different microorganisms.