Project 2:
Exercise 16: Staphylococcal Carrier Study

Overview:
This is the second big project of the semester and it counts a total of 100 points. I suggest you do the paper in two parts: I. Individual Results and II. Class Results. Each is worth 100 points. Late submissions will result in points being deducted.
Objectives:
- to isolate and identify a species of Staphylococcus from your body.
- to screen that isolate for antimicrobial drug resistance.
- to evaluate the data from the class.
Isolation:
- Completed Thursday 06.10.2009: Isolate bacteria from the nose and skin using the streak plate technique on mannitol salt agar incubated at 37 degrees C for 48 hours.
- Plates were take from the incubator and refrigerated after 48 hours of incubation.
- Tuesday 06.16.2009: Grow isolate on Blood Agar
- Did your isolate ferment mannitol?
- If so take one of those colonies for this portion of the project.
- If not, take any single colony from either plate.
- Transfer one isolated colony from MSA to blood agar plate by placing the colony in 0.5 ml of sterile Trypticase Soy Broth (TSB) and then spreading it liberally on a plate of blood agar.
- This will be incubated at 37 degrees C and you will use the growth to identify your isolate.
- Did your isolate ferment mannitol?
Identification Thursday 06.18.2009:
- Perform the following tests to identify your isolate [Refer to detailed directions in your lab book]:
- Examine blood plate for hemolysis.
- Gram stain –don’t forget the control!
- Oxidase Test
- Catalase Test
- Coagulase Test
- After these are complete you should be able to tell what you think your isolate is.
- Note that some isolates will not match enough of the criteria to make any identification. In that case just say you identified something else or “other”. You would have to conduct more tests to determine what it is and we don’t have time or the means for that.
- Part I of your report is almost ready to complete. It is the isolation and identification of your isolate.
Screen for Antimicrobial Drug Resistance Set up Thursday 06.18.2009 and complete Tuesday 06.23.2009
- After you have completed your identification of your isolate follow the directions in the lab book and screen your isolate for drug resistance.
- We are testing your isolate for resistance to
- Penicillin
- Streptomycin
- Tetracycline
- Tiple sulfa
- These plates will be incubated for 24-48 hours and you will gather your results on Tusday June 23rd.
Report the results for your antibiogram for distribution to the class
- Report your results.
- These will be collected and class results will be distributed to you for your analysis.

