Bacteria Growing, Staining, and Imaging for Giggles
48 Hours
This is the second series of pictures for this project, after 48 hours of incubation.
If you missed the pictures from 24 hours after collection, view them here.
My goal is to collect samples from various areas around the house, observe them at 24 and 48 hours, and run gram staining on the grown bacterial colonies. Pictures are being taken at the 24 hour and 48 hour mark, and will include another set of the microscopic bacteria at 1000x magnification, both unstained and stained. I'm incubating the cultures in a closed box inside the closet where the water heater is. The air temperature is approximately 82 degrees. There's a slight fog build up on the lids from having them turned right-side up for the picture taking process, however, they are being stored upside-down to keep the flow of condensation upward toward the agar.
Collection Process
I'm using Tryptic Soy Agar (5% Sheeps Blood) as the growth medium. They were collected using sterile swabs, or drops from a sterile dropper, while wearing sterile gloves (except when I actually sampled my finger).
Samples Collected
| Plate # | Surface/Liquid |
| 1 | Toilet Bowl |
| 2 | Shower Knobs |
| 3 | Mouse's Keyboard |
| 4 | Kitchen Sink |
| 5 | Microwave Buttons |
| 6 | TV Remote Control |
| 7 | House Water |
| 8 | Grease Trap Water |
| 9 | Mouse's Finger |
| 10 | Ditch Leaf |
The Petri Dishes at 48 Hours
Pictures can be clicked for larger view.
Plate # 1 - The Toilet Bowl
Plate # 2 - Shower Knob Handles
Plate # 3 - Mouse's Keyboard
Plate # 4 - Kitchen Sink (from just inside the drain area)
Plate # 5 - Microwave Buttons
Plate # 6 - TV Remote Control
Plate # 7 - House Tap Water
Plate # 8 - Grease Trap Water
Plate # 9 - Mouse's Finger
Plate # 10 - Leaves from the roadside Ditch