Lab 5 Eukaryotic Microbes, Parasitology, & Viruses BIO250L”
Student Name: XXXX
Access Code (located on the underside of the lid of your lab kit): XXXXX
“Pre-Lab Questions”
1. What is a model organism, and why is Saccharomyces cerevisiae so often used as one?
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae is often used as a model organism because it has a fast
growth rate, small in size, easy upkeep, safe and easy to work with and also is low cost.
Yeast is an important factor in many different foods and drinks as well.
2. Research and discuss the properties of mold that make them sometimes beneficial to humans,
and sometimes potentially harmful.
Mold can sometimes be beneficial to humans in some ways such as it breaks down
organic matter (which can return nutrients in the environment) and also be found in some
foods. For potentially harmful situations with mold, if inhaled by humans or animals it
could cause serious infections and produce toxins. Some harmful molds to humans can
be Cladosporium, Penicillium, and Aspergillus.
3. Parasitic helminths are a major cause of disease in undeveloped countries around the world.
Discuss the role that microbiologists can and have played in helping to reduce the number of
infections caused by parasitic helminths.
Microbiologists have played a part in helping reduce the number of infections caused by
parasitic helminths. Because they have studied the difference in the vehicles, hosts, and
vectors. Microbiologists can identify the characteristics to be able to diagnose and how
to prevent transmission by coming up with proper vaccines etc.
“EXPERIMENT 1: Mold Growth on Bread and Fruit
Data Tables
Table 1: Experiment 1 Growth Results
Day of First Visible Extent of Growth on Extent of Growth on
Condition
Growth Bread (Mean) Apple (Mean)
Bright, Control 9 1 2
Bright, Water 6 1 2
Bright, Sugar 10 1 2
Bright, Lemon 10 3 3
Bright, Vinegar 10 1 1
Dark, Control 6 1 1
Dark, Water 11 3 2
Dark, Sugar 1 1 1
Dark, Lemon 7 1 1
, Lab 5 Eukaryotic Microbes, Parasitology, & Viruses BIO250L”
Day of First Visible Extent of Growth on Extent of Growth on
Condition
Growth Bread (Mean) Apple (Mean)
Dark, Vinegar 0 0 0
Post-Lab Questions
1. Which condition produced the most mold growth? The least? The fastest? The slowest?
In the experiment, the condition that I saw that produced:
The most growth was bright sugar.
The least growth dark vinegar
The fastest was dark sugar
The slowest but ended with the most growth with dark water.
2. What was the purpose of examining three pieces of bread and three pieces of apple in each
treatment?
The purpose of examining both three pieces of bread and three pieces of apple was to
see the most favorable condition for the mold to grow.
3. Based on your results, what conditions are most favorable for mold growth on bread? On apple?
The more acidic and bright the conditions were, the less mold growth was on the apple
and bread.
4. Would these conditions apply to all fungal growth?
No, I do not think these would all apply to fungal growth.
5. Did you notice a difference in mold growth on the bread vs the apple? If so, what do you think
might account for this difference?
For my results I saw more noticeable growth on bread vs the apples. Typically apples
would be better with mold growth due to the fact they have natural sugars and aren’t
processed like bread. But with the experiment, most of the growth I saw on the bread, It
could be because of the type of bread I used.
6. How would changing the type of bread (e.g. fresh from a bakery, no preservatives vs.
prepackaged with preservatives) affect the results?
I think I used fresh bread from a bakery which resulted in the bread growing mold faster
compared to the apples. Bread with preservatives keep the bread from (spoiling/growing)
mold as fast.
7. How do you think changing the temperature at which the bags were incubated affected the
results?
I think that changing the temperature of the bags that were incubated would either
rapidly increase or decrease the growth of the mold. If the temperature was increased
the mold could grow more rapidly, but could alway kill the bacteria if the temperature was
Student Name: XXXX
Access Code (located on the underside of the lid of your lab kit): XXXXX
“Pre-Lab Questions”
1. What is a model organism, and why is Saccharomyces cerevisiae so often used as one?
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae is often used as a model organism because it has a fast
growth rate, small in size, easy upkeep, safe and easy to work with and also is low cost.
Yeast is an important factor in many different foods and drinks as well.
2. Research and discuss the properties of mold that make them sometimes beneficial to humans,
and sometimes potentially harmful.
Mold can sometimes be beneficial to humans in some ways such as it breaks down
organic matter (which can return nutrients in the environment) and also be found in some
foods. For potentially harmful situations with mold, if inhaled by humans or animals it
could cause serious infections and produce toxins. Some harmful molds to humans can
be Cladosporium, Penicillium, and Aspergillus.
3. Parasitic helminths are a major cause of disease in undeveloped countries around the world.
Discuss the role that microbiologists can and have played in helping to reduce the number of
infections caused by parasitic helminths.
Microbiologists have played a part in helping reduce the number of infections caused by
parasitic helminths. Because they have studied the difference in the vehicles, hosts, and
vectors. Microbiologists can identify the characteristics to be able to diagnose and how
to prevent transmission by coming up with proper vaccines etc.
“EXPERIMENT 1: Mold Growth on Bread and Fruit
Data Tables
Table 1: Experiment 1 Growth Results
Day of First Visible Extent of Growth on Extent of Growth on
Condition
Growth Bread (Mean) Apple (Mean)
Bright, Control 9 1 2
Bright, Water 6 1 2
Bright, Sugar 10 1 2
Bright, Lemon 10 3 3
Bright, Vinegar 10 1 1
Dark, Control 6 1 1
Dark, Water 11 3 2
Dark, Sugar 1 1 1
Dark, Lemon 7 1 1
, Lab 5 Eukaryotic Microbes, Parasitology, & Viruses BIO250L”
Day of First Visible Extent of Growth on Extent of Growth on
Condition
Growth Bread (Mean) Apple (Mean)
Dark, Vinegar 0 0 0
Post-Lab Questions
1. Which condition produced the most mold growth? The least? The fastest? The slowest?
In the experiment, the condition that I saw that produced:
The most growth was bright sugar.
The least growth dark vinegar
The fastest was dark sugar
The slowest but ended with the most growth with dark water.
2. What was the purpose of examining three pieces of bread and three pieces of apple in each
treatment?
The purpose of examining both three pieces of bread and three pieces of apple was to
see the most favorable condition for the mold to grow.
3. Based on your results, what conditions are most favorable for mold growth on bread? On apple?
The more acidic and bright the conditions were, the less mold growth was on the apple
and bread.
4. Would these conditions apply to all fungal growth?
No, I do not think these would all apply to fungal growth.
5. Did you notice a difference in mold growth on the bread vs the apple? If so, what do you think
might account for this difference?
For my results I saw more noticeable growth on bread vs the apples. Typically apples
would be better with mold growth due to the fact they have natural sugars and aren’t
processed like bread. But with the experiment, most of the growth I saw on the bread, It
could be because of the type of bread I used.
6. How would changing the type of bread (e.g. fresh from a bakery, no preservatives vs.
prepackaged with preservatives) affect the results?
I think I used fresh bread from a bakery which resulted in the bread growing mold faster
compared to the apples. Bread with preservatives keep the bread from (spoiling/growing)
mold as fast.
7. How do you think changing the temperature at which the bags were incubated affected the
results?
I think that changing the temperature of the bags that were incubated would either
rapidly increase or decrease the growth of the mold. If the temperature was increased
the mold could grow more rapidly, but could alway kill the bacteria if the temperature was
