Exploration on innovative experimental item construction for isolation of microorganisms in soil

Abstract:

It is a practice that we foster students’ innovation ability and explore innovation experiment in microbiology experimental teaching. Students were assigned to isolation of bacteria, actinomycetes and molds from campus’s soil and Shennongjia’s soil, which they had collected during summer filed practice. The experiment is aimed at helping students to learn the method for determination of microorganism numbers in soil and master the basic techniques about plate count. The subsequent experiments involve techniques, such as aseptic technique, microscopical technique, pure culture technique, separation and purification methods of microorganisms, and some methods of molecular biology. The experiment has three innovation points. Firstly, the resources of soil were various, which could be collected from campus, Shennongjia, etc. Secondly, the isolates of microorganisms in soil could be used to apply National University or Wuhan University Student Innovation Program, e.g., isolating and identifying of a new bacterial species. The last, it combined common education with personalized teaching.