Experiment 1: Assessing the Bacterial Load of Milk with Methylene Blue Processed

Question

Experiment 1: Assessing the Bacterial Load of Milk with Methylene Blue

Processed milk is pasteurized, that is, heated to a specific temperature for a specified amount of time, then cooled. This process reduces the amount of microorganisms present to non-disease causing levels. However, pasteurization does not kill all microorganisms in milk. The off-putting odor of expired milk is due to the growth and metabolism of bacteria. In this experiment, you will qualitatively assess the presence of bacteria in milk using the methylene blue reductase test. Methylene blue is a dye that is normally blue but turns colorless when it acted upon by bacteria (it is reduced, or it gains electrons, through the aerobic electron transport system). Methylene blue is essentially an oxygen sensor: the blue color disappears when the oxygen in the system is used. Aerobic bacteria metabolize oxygen; therefore, the faster the color changes, the more bacteria are present. This is a time course experiment, meaning that you will set up samples at different times then perform the assay on all samples at once. Please read the Procedure section carefully beforebeginning the experiment.

Materials:

4 Sterile screw-top tubes
8 Sterile, disposable transfer pipettes
0.05% Methylene blue solution
Stopwatch
Permanent marker

10 mL Graduated cylinder
*60 mL Fresh refrigerated milk (whole, 2%, 1%, or fat-free)

*You must provide

Procedure

Use a permanent marker to label one of the tubes as “4 Hour Sample”.

Add 10 mL fresh refrigerated milk to the tube with a sterile transfer pipette. Place this tube at room temperature but out of direct sunlight.

After 1 hour has passed, use a permanent marker to label another tube as “3 Hour Sample”.

Add 10 mL fresh refrigerated milk to the tube with a sterile transfer pipette. Place this tube at room temperature but out of direct sunlight, preferably in the same location as tube 1.

After an additional 2 hours have passed, use a permanent marker to label another tube as “1 Hour Sample”.

Add 10 mL fresh refrigerated milk to the tube with a sterile transfer pipette. Place this tube at room temperature but out of direct sunlight, preferably in the same location as tube 1 and 2.

When 4 hours have passed since you began the experiment, label the final tube as “0 Hour Sample”.

Add 10 mL fresh refrigerated milk to the tube with a sterile transfer pipette. Place this tube at room temperature but out of direct sunlight, preferably in the same location as tube 1, 2, and 3. Prepare this sample immediately before performing the methylene blue reductase assay.

Collect all the tubes and add 1 mL of the methylene blue solution with a sterile transfer pipette to each tube. Caution: Methylene blue dye can stain clothing, furniture, carpet, etc. Wear gloves and a lab apron when using and add the dye with the experiment set up on the benchcoat pad.

Tightly screw the cap on each tube and invert the tubes several times to mix. The samples should all turn blue. Record the starting time in Table 1.

Examine the tubes for a blue to white color change at 30 minute intervals. Record the time when samples turn white in Table 1. Calculate how long it took for each sample to change from blue to white.

Table 1: Color Change Over Time

Milk Sample

Starting Time
(Determined in Step 10)

Ending Time
(Determined in Step 11)

Time Required for Color Change
(End time-Start time)

Zero hour

1 hour

3 hour

4 hour

Which sample took the least amount of time to become white? Why do you think this is so?

How does refrigeration affect the amount of bacteria present in milk?

Experiment 1: Assessing the Bacterial Load of Milk with Methylene Blue

Processed milk is pasteurized, that is, heated to a specific temperature for a specified amount of time, then cooled. This process reduces the amount of microorganisms present to non-disease causing levels. However, pasteurization does not kill all microorganisms in milk. The off-putting odor of expired milk is due to the growth and metabolism of bacteria. In this experiment, you will qualitatively assess the presence of bacteria in milk using the methylene blue reductase test. Methylene blue is a dye that is normally blue but turns colorless when it acted upon by bacteria (it is reduced, or it gains electrons, through the aerobic electron transport system). Methylene blue is essentially an oxygen sensor: the blue color disappears when the oxygen in the system is used. Aerobic bacteria metabolize oxygen; therefore, the faster the color changes, the more bacteria are present. This is a time course experiment, meaning that you will set up samples at different times then perform the assay on all samples at once. Please read the Procedure section carefully beforebeginning the experiment.

Explanation / Answer

The 4-hour sample took the least amount of time to become white. I think, it did because the milk had less oxygen in it since it had been sitting out. In addition, the 0-hour sample took the longest time.

Refrigeration affects the amount of bacteria present in the milk. It will spoil slower. It stops all the metabolic activities of bacteria, and slows down the bacterial growth.

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