Biochemical Tests Flashcards
what does the nitrate reduction test test for?
Nitrate reductase
Can be a sign of anaerobic respiration
What biochemical tests are we responsible for?
- Nitrate reduction test
- litmus milk test
- urease test
- exoenzymes
- carbohydrate fermentation (duram test)
- Gelatin test
- Ames test
what type of organism participates in anaerobic respiration and what enzyme do they contain?
gram -
nitrate reductase
what specific kind of bacteria may participate in anaerobic repiration?
enterobaceriaceae
what is the process of converting nitrate to molecular nitrogen called?
denitrification
what kind of solution is used in the Nitrate reduction test?
Nitrate broth
what is the nitrate broth made of?
- beef extract
- potassium nitrate (KNO3)
how do you know if gas was produced during the nitrate reduction test?
by looking at the inverted Durham tube
is there a color indicator in the nitrate broth? how does it change colors?
no
color change takes place as a result of the reactions between the metabolic products and the reagents added after incubation
how would you test for denitrification in a nitrate reduction test?
look to see is gas collected in the inverted durham tube
if there is no evidence of denitrification, what should you do next? and what are you testing for?
8 drops sulfanilic acid (reagent A) and 8 drops naphthylamin (reagent B) should be added
the reduction of nitrate to nitrite
once reagents A and B are added and there is a presence of nitrite, what will be produced from this reaction and what color will it be?
nitrous acid (HNO2)
red
if there is no color change after you add reagents A and B, what can you assume and what would you do next?
- the nitrate was not reduced or was reduced to one of the other nitrogenous compounds.
- add zinc
why is the zinc added to the solution and what color would it be if specific products are present?
- to catalyze the reduction of nitrate to nitrite
- red
the red color seen after the addition of zinc in a nitrate reduction test indicates what ?
that Nitrate was not reduced by the organism
what does it mean if there still isnt a color change after zinc is added in a nitrate reduction test?
the organism reduced the nitrate to NH3, NO or N2O2 or some other non-gaseous nitrogenous compound.
What are the steps in a nitrate reduction test?
1) inoculate pure bacteria into tube
2) incubate at 37 degrees C for 24 hours
3) examine durham tube (no gas, do next step)
4) add 8 drops of reagent A and B ( no color change, do next step)
5) add zinc (results now shown)
what does the urease test test for?
tests if an organism can metabolize urea
what is urea a product of?
decarboxylation of amino acids
what enzyme hydrolyzes urea?
urease