The interactions between Helicobacter, Campylobacter and the immune system Introduction Campylobacters are a group of bacteria that are the most common cause of diarrhea worldwide. Under this group is the Helicobacter group of bacteria that causes peptic ulcer disease and…
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Eukaryotic plant and animal cells have some similarities and marked differences in structure that are key to understanding life; Every organism does occurs fundamentally because of functions at a cellular level. If you have ever observed plant cells and animal…
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Campylobacter jejuni is a highly motile, spiral shaped, gram-negative staining bacterium. Many birds carry the organism and it does not appear to cause any infection in avian species. Campylobacter is the most common cause of food poisoning in the developed…
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Today’s society is well aware that bacteria can cause many illnesses. Sometimes, however, it is not the bacteria themselves that actually cause the damage to our bodies. In some instances, the symptoms of the diseases are actually the result of…
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The bacterium Bordetella pertussis is a small pleomorphic gram-negative staining cocco-bacillus. It is the causative organism of whooping cough, a condition also known by the medical term pertussis. While classic whooping cough is known as a childhood disease, Bordetella pertussis…
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When bacterial cultures are grown in a laboratory, they are growing in a captive environment, somewhat like a tiny microbial zoo. These captive-bred bacteria are totally dependent on people to provide the proper environment for their survival and growth. A…
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Bacteria are prokaryotes, one of the three great classes of life. Their cells have no nuclei, and generally lack organelles, small sub-units bound in membranes. They are about a tenth the size of the eukaryotic cells found in plants and…
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In order to view individual bacteria through a light microscope, a bacterial smear must be attached to a slide and then stained. Here is the procedure. First, use a wax pencil to draw a circle on the microscope slide to…
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Before bacteria can be viewed through a microscope, a bacterial smear must first be created and then heat fixed. Heat fixing kills the microbes and firmly attaches them to the slide, so that the sample is not washed away during…
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There are many staining techniques that can be used to view bacteria. Simple stains employ only one dye, and provide information limited to cell shape and grouping. The use of differential stains is more complex. Differential protocols employ a series…
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