Unknown Lab Report

In the unknown identification labs, we have identified our unknown as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is Gram negative and rod shaped that we found to be motile in the lab. Our strain of P. aeruginosa formed colonies that were round in shape and had scalloped margins on nutrient agar. On our agar slant, the P. aeruginosa colonies had a filiform appearance on the edges.
I think we correctly identified our unknown as P. aeruginosa because we performed several different tests, eleven of which helped us identify our organism on the Gram negative chart that was in our lab book. When it came down to narrowing the organisms down to ours, I looked at the glucose test first because all of the other Gram negative organisms were positive for glucose except for two. Since our organism tested negative for glucose it helped narrow it down to only those two organisms, Alcaligenes faecalis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The other tests that we performed on our unknown were not really helpful when it came to determining if it was Alcaligenes faecalis or Pseudomonas aeruginosa because they both had all the same characteristics when it came to the lactose, mannitol, motility, indole, citrate, H2S, urease, methyl red and VP tests. Our tests for lactose, mannitol, indole, urease, methyl
Since P. aeruginosa is an opportunistic organism, most of the people that are affected by it are people whose immune systems are compromised, which is why P. aeruginosa is such a big problem in hospitals and clinics. The best way to control this pathogenic organism is by proper isolation procedures, aseptic technique, and careful cleaning of equipment. Using aseptic technique and cleaning all surgical equipment properly is very important because P. aeruginosa is easily spread in hospitals by nurses, surgeons and other hospital