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Halo-Ed: Extreme Microbiology and
Astrobiology |
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Microbiology
Basic Microbiology Skills Part I provides students with an ideal
introduction on how to handle, grow, and visualize microorganisms in the
laboratory. Students at any level from middle school and beyond can learn how
to grow microbes on agar plates using Halobacterium sp. NRC-1. This
microbe requires extremely high salinity for viability and growth, which
invites discussion of the limits to life and astrobiology in the classroom.
This microbe is also visually stimulating and its medium prevents
contamination by other potentially unsafe species. Students can safely learn
how to use sterile techniques critical for microbiologists and how to purify
microbial strains using plate-streaking techniques. These skills are also
important for use in the biotechnology, food, and medical industries. The kit
contains easy to follow step-by-step instructions. Students will enjoy seeing
the exciting results of their newly found skills. The exercise can be used to
teach AP Biology, biotechnology, and microbiology and was developed in
collaboration with Carolina Biological Supply Company. For more information,
see: Basic
Microbiology Skills Part I. An interesting question for students to consider: 'How do you
make a spacecraft looking for life elsewhere completely sterile?' As a companion to this website, we have developed a
comprehensive set of laboratory exercises using Halobacterium NRC-1 as
the model organism for teaching a wide range of subjects, including Basic
Microbiology Part 1 and Basic
Microbiology Part 2, making
media, exponential growth, colony formation, mutation, antibiotic
resistance, motility, flotation, DNA function, transformation,
complementation, biotechnology, genomics, and bioinformatics. Haloarchaea were studied originally
with respect to preservation of fish, in particular, “reddened klippfish”.
Here is an image of such a specimen: Photo of “Dried
Cod” reproduced with permission from Luis Carvalho 2021 For
Questions and Suggestions, contact the Halo-Ed
Team |
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Copyright © Shiladitya DasSarma & Priya DasSarma |
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