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Morphological Unknown Identification Assistance

Although determining the morphological characteristics of bacteria (cells and colonies) is a useful step in the identification process, students will find that gaining this information alone is insufficient for establishing the specific identity of microbial cultures. This Web-based laboratory activity is designed to provide additional information useful in the identification of unknown cultures. It will also introduce students to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), a public resource containing a wealth of useful information.

To complete this assignment, click on the NCBI link provided and access the NCBI Home Page (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). Click on "Nucleotide" under "Popular Resources", and then type (or copy and paste) the accession number listed for your unknown into the "for" window. Hit return or click on the "go" button to access the required information.

Record the following information on your Morphological Unknown Report Form (Pg. 90):
1. The Database Accession number (at the top of the page, right hand side).
2. The technical name of your culture (Genus name and specific epithet).
3. The taxonomic lineage (listed just under the name), domain through species.
4. The name of the gene being investigated (recorded to the left of "Definition").
5. The name of the first author (recorded to the left of "Reference").
6. The country the author(s) is/are submitting from.

Morphological unknown web assisted identification:

Spring 2013

NCBI Home Page

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