Earl John E.

Caonero

Laboratory Exercise 3
Microbiology of the Intestinal Tract
Identification of Enterobacteriaceae (Enteric Bacilli)
Answers to Questions

1. What are the common pathogens isolated from stool samples?

Escherichia coli, Vibrio cholera, Campylobacter jejuni, Salmonella pratyphi b, and Shigella flexneri.
(Alam et al., 2003).

2. What is the difference between a coliform bacterium and a noncoliform enteric bacterium?

Coliforms are are aerobic or facultatively anaerobic, Gram-negative, rod shaped bacteria that ferment
lactose, they are found in the intestinal tracts of animals and humans, in soil, and on plants and
decaying vegetations examples include the genera Escherichia, Klebsiella, Serratia, Enterobacter,
Hafnia, and Citrobacter. Noncolifrom enteric bacteria are non lactose fermenters which includes the
opportunistic genera Proteus, Morganella, Providencia, and Edwardsiella (Bauman et al., 2014).

3. What diagnostic test differentiates Proteus and Providencia species from other
Enterobacteriaceae?

Using a TSI agar. Proteus and Providencia species produce an alkaline slant and acid butt while
other enteric bacteria produce an acid slant and acid and gas in the butt (Brooks,et al., 2012).

4. How is E. Coli distinguished from P. Vulgaris on MacConkey agar? On a TSI slant?

E. coli are lactose fermenting microorganisms therefore on a MacConkey agar the colonies will
appear pinkish, and since P. Vulgaris are non lactose fermenters they will appear unpigmented. On a
TSI slant black precipitates will be observed from E. coli this is due to the production of H 2S by E.
coli while P. vulgaris is negative for H2S production therefore no black precipitate will be observed
(Bauman et al., 2014).

5. How would you differentiate between serotypes of E. coli?

Their serotypes can be differentiated by using the Kauffman scheme that makes use of the O
(somatic), H (flagellar), and K (capsular) antigen of the E. coli (Nataro et al., 1998).

6. Are the gram-negative enteric bacilli fastidious organisms? Would they survive well outside the
body? If so, what significance would this have in their transmission?

They are non-fastidious organisms and they are able to survive outside the body, and by
contaminating food and water they are able to transmit and spread diseases (Murray et al., 2013).

Sources:

Alam M., Akhtar Y.N., Ali S.S., Ahmed M., Atiq M., Ansari A., Chaudhry F.A., Bashir H., Bangash
M.A., Awais A., Safdar A., Hasnain S.F., Zafar A.. March 2003. Seasonal variation in
bacterial pathogens isolated from stool samples in Karachi, Pakistan.
Brooks, G., Carroll, K., Butel, J., Morse, S., Meitzner, T. 2012. Jawetz, Melnick, and Adelbergs
Medical Microbiology. 26th edition

Bauman, R.W., Machunis-Masuoka E., Cosby C.D., Montgomery J.E. (2014). Microbiology with
Diseases by Taxonomy. Pearson Education Inc.

Murray P.R., Rosenthal K.S., Pfaller M.A. (2013). Medical Microbiology 7 th Ed. Elsevier Inc.

Nataro J.P., Kaper J.B. (1998). Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli. Clinical Microbiology Reviews.
Retrieved on February 19, 2017 from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC121379/