Winogradsky Column Experiment
Winogradsky Column Experiment is a simple way of cultivating diverse microorganisms and study how they interact with each other.
Nutrients: Lentils as source of Ferrum
Two Eggs as source of Sulfur
Sugar as source of Carbon
Sampling Procedure: On October 16th we went to the Kalodiki marsh (Photo 1) in order to collect mud and water and each student had to create at least one Winogradsky column. Bottles of 1.5lt volume were used as columns. The two-thirds of my column were filled with mud mixed with nutrients and the other one-third was filled with water. Firstly, I collected the mud and mixed it with all nutrients. Then, I filled with the enriched mud the two-thirds of my bottle and added the water which originated from the same marshland. The bottle was covered with a black plastic bag and was left to the hydrobiology lab to incubate in room temperature.
Hypothesis: The Ferrum would help the Photosynthetic microorganisms to grow but the black plastic bag would be an obstacle in this precdure. So I supposed that finally I would't see the green photosynthetic bacteria in the top of my column.
Complications: In October 18th I went to relieve the gas pressure in my bottle but it exploded . I suppose that the reason of this explosion was the production of large amounts of gases and especially of Ηydrogen Sulfide from the sulfur bacteria.
Due to this incident, I decided to create a new colum:
The two-thirds of the new column were filled with mud from the University campus and the rest was filled with water from the eutrophic lake of Ioannina, Pamvotis. The first one-third was filled with mud mixed with one egg as source of sulfur and shredded paper as source of carbon, the second one-third had mud without any nutrient and the last one-third had was filled with lake water. The bottle was left to incubate in the lab at room temperature.
Results: After almost two months of incubation, in the end of the semester I did not notice any sign of growth in my new column(Photo 2). These results, compared to the ones of my fellow students that used mud from the marshland, may indicate that the mud from the University campus was not so rich in microorganisms as the one collected from Kalodiki wetland.
Photo 1: The Kalodiki marsh Photo 2: The new column after
two months of incubation
Any other gaseous products that could contribute to the... undesired explosion? Do you believe that growth was faster in your column compared to the columns of other students?
ReplyDeleteI suppose that also methane and carbon dioxide could contribute to the explosion. The column was filled with too many nutrients and the microorganisms grow fast, so they may had favorable conditions to grow in maximum growth rate, even if I cannot be sure about it.
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