Gram Negative identification Flashcards
What is the name for bacteria that require CO2 to grow?
Capnophilic
What do Microaerophilic bacteria require?
grows in a low concentration of oxygen, but not in its absence or in ambient air
What are 5 features common to all Enterobacteriaceae?
- Gram negative rods
- Facultative anaerobes
- Ferment Glucose
- Grow rapidly
- Reduce Nitrate to nitrite
What are 2 other features that are common to most Enterobacteriaceae?
- Oxidase Negative (except Plesiomonas)
2. Many are motile (except Klebsiella, Shigella)
Explain how MacConkey agar is both selective and differential
Selective: contains bile salts and crystal violet that inhibit the growth of gram positive organisms
Differential: contains lactose as a CHO source. Only gram negatives capable of fermenting lactose will grow. Effectively cuts the Enterobacteriaceae in half
- media will turn pink if a lactose fermenter is growing
What is the oxidase test checking for?
presence of cytochrome oxidase involved in the reduction of oxygen at the end of the electron transport chain
Are the Enterobacteriaceae oxidase positive or negative?
All oxidase negative (except 1)
What 3 species of gram negative bacteria are oxidase + ?
Vibrio
Pseudomonas
Aeromonas
What is the nitrate test used for?
Detect the presence of nitrate reductase (ability to turn nitrate into nitrite)
What is a positive test for the Nitrate test? Why do you sometimes get false negatives? How can you test for that?
Presence of red colour after addition of reagents = positive
If the bacteria further reduces the nitrite to ammonia then no red will be observed
Adding zinc will confirm the test
- change to red = negative nitrate test
- no change = positive nitrate test
What are the reagents in a TSI slant test?
1% glucose, 10% lactose & 10 % sucrose agar
Sodium thiosulfate for H2S production
FeSO4 for H2S detection
Phenol red indicator
Explain the significance of the red/yellow colouring in a TSI slant
Fermentation of glucose will lower pH in tube and turn agar yellow (from red)
Once glucose is depleted, organism must switch to lactose/sucrose or break down amino acids
If the organism can break down the other sugars, the pH remains low and the tube stays yellow
If it cannot break down the other sugars, it will resort to amino acids, increasing the pH and the tube will turn red again
- only on the slant as this is an aerobic reaction
What produces the black colouring sometimes seen in TSI slants?
Sodium thiosulfate is used by some bacteria to produce H2S which reacts with the iron salts to produce black precipitation
What is the significance of a TSI slant test where the tube remains red?
Means that the organism is an Afermenter
Where are Vibrio and Aeromonas found typically? what do they cause?
Primarily found in water sources
May cause gastrointestinal disease
What features do Aeromonas and Vibrio share with the Enterobacteriaceae?
Gram-negative
Facultative anaerobes
Fermentative (glucose)
What is a key difference between Aeromonas + Vibrio and the Enterobacteriaceae?
Aeromonas and Vibrio are oxidase positive