Isolation of a Urea Degrading Bacteria
Introduction
Urea was the first organic chemical to be synthetically produced1, previously it was thought that only living creatures could produce organic compounds Urea is naturally produced by the kidneys as waste from the degradation of amino acids. It is because of this that urea is commonly found in soils and is a useful nutrient source for bacteria that are able to utilise it, such as, Helicobacter pylori,
Klebsiella pneumonia, all species of Proteus and Micrococcus luteus.
These bacteria degrade urea in a reaction catalysed by the urease enzyme, CO(NH2)2 + H2O àCO2 + 2NH3. this process benefits the bacteria in several ways. The bacteria use the ammonia that is produced for respiration, the products also raise the pH of the environment. This promotes the growth of many urea degrading bacteria and inhibits competition from many other bacterial species.
M. luteus is commonly found on mammalian skin and it is unusual for a member of the natural human flora to degrade urea. It is believed that
M. luteus has this ability as an evolutionary hangover from its life in its ancestral soil habitat. In this environment urea is readily available and the ability to degrade it is a distinct advantage. As the species evolved to live on skin the trait remained, as it had no negative effect on survivability.
Micrococcus is a genus within the Micrococcaceae family. With the use of 16s RNA in bacterial taxonomy the genus has recently been revised2.
The genus now includes three species, M. luteus, M. lylae and M. antarcticus3. M. luteus is a common yellow gram-positive coccus and roughly 0.5-2.0mm in diameter. Cells appear in pairs, tetrads and irregular clusters but never in chains.4
Method of Isolation
* Isolate a variety of organisms from soil and skin.
By taking samples from four different sources (three skin and one soil) the chance of urea degrading bacteria being present was increased. * Culture in nutrient broth.
This allowed all isolated microbes to grow.
* Plate sample onto urea plates.
On these plates urea was the only nutrient available, this meant that any bacteria that grew could degrade urea.
* Perform urease test.
Isolated bacteria are grown in a broth containing phosphate buffer, yeast extract, 2% urea and phenol red. An agar slope of the medium is heavily inoculated and incubated at 370c for at least four hours. If the organism only has low urease activity the phosphate buffer will neutralise the NH3 produced. A red colour indicates that NH3 has been produced and the result is positive5.
* Perform Gram stain.
This is the most important stain in bacteriology and differentiates between gram positive and gram-negative cell walls, which indicates
The literature specifically highlights the effects of Hurricane Dean on the community of Portland Cottage. The literature relieved that there are resources outside of the government that is available to communities that can assist in the disaster recovery process. In addition, it outlined the government’s role in disaster management in a general and presented the institutional framework as it exists in Jamaica. There are a number of key stakeholders in the disaster recovery process and the roles they played were outlined. These factors and perspectives now determine the basis on which the research and methodology are based.
Carl Woese’s (1990) groundbreaking paper categorised the Tree of Life into three domains for the first time– Archaea, Eubacteria and Eukarya. Before this, Archaea were known as Archaebacteria due to their prokaryotic, single-celled appearance similar to bacteria. However, Woese analysed 16S ribosomal RNA from all three groups and discovered there were differences of such significance in the sequences, for example between positions 180 and 197, that Archaea should be classified as their own domain. The three domains are believed to have separated from one common ancestor, with Eubacteria and Archaea diverging 3.8 billion years ago and Archaea separating from Eukarya 2.8 billion years ago. This means that, despite their appearance, Archaea share more similarities with eukaryotes, such as 33 identical ribosomal proteins, than with bacteria.
Those who suffer from an addiction can become so caught up in the moment in trying to keep up their habit that they forget how it is affecting those around them. Drugs put a lot of stress on everyone in the family. One may lose their job, suffer from financial problems, steal, or even be abusive to others within the family. Those who have an addiction often perceive themselves as to not having a problem and it is not out of control, so they do not seek out treatment (NIH: National Institute on Drug Abuse, n.d., para. 2). It is at that time that those who care for the individual will have an intervention to try and help the addict. An intervention is a carefully planned process that may be done by family and friends, in consultation with a doctor or professional such as a licensed alcohol and drug counselor, or directed by an intervention professional (Mayo Clinic, 2016, para. 5). Addiction is a disease that is hard for someone to overcome; by implementing an intervention there is hope for a better life.
According to President Barak Obama there are over 20 million Americans who struggle with substance abuse. (OBAMA, B. 2014). Although addiction is rampant in the United States there are intervention programs available for those who are seeking out recovery. Researchers explain that addiction is a
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There are many contributing factors and political issues that address substance abuse. Throughout the years, many researchers have designed many interventions and social policies designed to treat people who have used, abused, and became addicted to substances. Today, there are many new studies that address substance abuse at the individual, group, family, and community or policy levels. Today, there are many services that are effective for decreasing recidivism in youth who have completed a substance abuse program. A substance abuse treatment program or center is the best way to treat individuals who have abused substances.
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Enzymes are proteins that act as a catalyst to bring about a specific biochemical reaction. Enzymes contain an active site that allows the substrate to bind to the enzyme and form the enzyme substrate complex and then release the products. An enzymes main function is to increase the rate of chemical reactions. There are many different types of enzymes, each containing a specific set of optimal temperatures. These temperatures represent the set of conditions at which the enzyme works best in. Enzymes are used in our everyday lives in order to break things down, for example starch. Fungal and bacterial amylases are the two enzymes tested in this experiment to see their ability to break down starch. To determine how temperature affects
Farmers around the world may not be able to afford fertilizers because of high cost. Anyone that has recently visited a nursery can verify how expensive chemical and organic fertilizers have become. However, there is another plentiful and inexpensive fertilizer alternative: human urine. Human urine contains very few, if any pathogens. However, it contains the majority of plant fertilizing nutrients. Human urine contains high levels of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), and sulfur (S). An additional benefit of using human urine, is that you are collecting it instead of flushing it, saving gallons and gallons of water.
Substance abuse is defined as the dependence on an addictive substance (University of Rochester Medical Center, 2014). The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) found that 8.7 percent of Americans older than 12 years of age are addicted to some type of addictive substance (Caron, 2009). Substance abuse doesn’t pertain to a certain person or group; it can range from any age, race, gender, or social class. Several people believe that substance abuse is easy to overcome, when in fact for many substance abusers it is a disease that is hard to cure which could lead into a greater issue, such as addiction. There are steps that someone abusing a substance will go through before becoming addic...
""Drugs, Brains, and Behavior - The Science of Addiction" - Drug Abuse and Addiction." Web. 14 Dec. 2010.
This section of the paper examines the current literature as it pertains to the current research related to catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI). A urinary tract infection is an infection that refers to any parts of the urethra, bladder or kidney. This type of infection is the most common type of healthcare-associated infection as reported by the National Healthcare Safety Network and 15-25% of hospitalized patients who received a catheter during their hospitalization (NHSN, 2017). A study by Nicolle (2014), hypothesized that urinary tract infection is attributed to the use of the indwelling catheter and is one of the most common infection in healthcare. Nicolle (2014) stipulates that 70-80% are related to a catheter used.
Drug abuse and addiction are issues that affect people everywhere. However, these issues are usually treated as criminal activity rather than issues of public health. There is a conflict over whether addiction related to drug abuse is a disease or a choice. Addiction as a choice suggests that drug abusers are completely responsible for their actions, while addiction as a disease suggests that drug abusers need help in order to break their cycle of addiction. There is a lot of evidence that suggests that addiction is a disease, and should be treated rather than punished. Drug addiction is a disease because: some people are more likely to suffer from addiction due to their genes, drug abuse brought on by addictive behavior changes the brain and worsens the addiction, and the environment a person lives in can cause the person to relapse because addiction can so strongly affect a person.
Drug addiction is a very big problem in today’s society. Many people have had their lives ruined due to drug addiction. The people that use the drugs don’t even realize that they have an addiction. They continue to use the drug not even realizing that their whole world is crashing down around them. Drug addicts normally lose their family and friends due to drug addiction.