GROUP B2. UNIVERSITY OF CADIZ. FIRST POST.

Hello everybody!

We are a group of three students and we are starting our biotechnology degree at University of Cádiz. We have a subject called microbiology, in which we go to the lab and do some experiment. One of them is the Winogradsky column. Now, we are going to tell to all of you a little bit of it.

We started this experiment more or less one month ago, exactly on Tuesday, the 3^rd of March. We had an empty plastic bottle in which we added a mixture of things. First of all, we had two types of sand, one from the beach and one from a river near our faculty called Río San Pedro. We added a little bit of some chemical substances to them: CaSO₄, FeSO₄, CaCO₃, starch and pieces of paper. We full three quarters of the bottle with this mixture and then, we added more or less four fingers of water

from the water tap.

12th March

This bottle should be placed, opened, near a window, in order to receive sun light to help microorganisms grow up. During this month, the bottle has been placed as it should all time, although during the second week, accidentally, someone moved it to a dark room, so it spent three days in total darkness and closed (it means, without oxygen).

8th April

We haven’t really noticed relevant changes during this month, that’s why we haven’t written on the blog until today. Just a little change is that the bottle has turned even blacker than it was on the beginning. Obviously, all the water has been placed on the top of the bottle.  No other colour has appeared on it.

However, we are still hopeful that changes will soon appear on our experiment. We expect that many different colours will appear since we have added many different components that are providing nourishment to bacteria. There are many kinds of bacteria. One of the types eat sulphates, others iron, other glucose (provided by starch and cellulose from paper). In addition, bacteria will also be distinguished because the ones who consume oxygen (aerobic) will be at the top and the ones who consume sulfhydryl acid n the bottom.

So, we expend next time we write to you, something has happened. Until then, we will patiently wait. Have a good time!