It is used for the identification of bacteria species based on the differences in the biochemical activities of different bacteria.
In many distinct areas of microbiology, the ability to identify microorganisms has important application. For example, in food microbiology it is important to be able to accurately identify food spoilage contaminants. In microbial ecology, the identification of microorganisms helps us characterize biodiversity. Biochemical identification of bacteria. 1  1. Determining the nutritional and metabolic capabilities of a bacterial isolate is the most common approach used for deter-mining the genus and species of an organism. 2  2. It is necessary for cellular survival and function and is the basis of cellular metabolism. As a result of these metabolic processes, metabolic products are formed and excreted by the cells into the environment. Assay of these end products aids in the identification of bacteria. A Few Biochemical/Physiological Properties Used for identification of bacteria include: nutrient utilization (carbohydrate utilization, amino acid degradation, lipid degradation), resistance to inhibitory substances (high salt, antibiotics, etc.), enzyme production (catalase, coagulase, hemolysins, etc.) and motility. Biochemical tests are the tests used for the identification of bacteria species based on the differences in the biochemical activities of different bacteria. Biochemical Tests. There are many biochemical tests that can be used to help identify bacteria. Since bacteria will react differently to these tests it is much like the bacterial fingerprint. These are a few biochemical tests that can be run. Therefore, ultimately, the identification of bacteria is mostly based on the differences in their biochemical activities. A list of some of the most commonly used biochemical tests performed for the identification of bacteria has been given in Figure 7.1. Each species of bacteria has a well-defined set of metabolic activities different from all other species. B. Importance of Biochemical Tests: The identification of higher plants and animals involves the observations of the structural differences, both internal and external, which exist among them. Most of these structural differences are visible to naked eye. Biochemical identification of bacteria is of utmost importance when one is dealing with bacteria associated with infections. The identification cannot be done solely on the basis of morphological colony characteristics.
http://www.uwyo.edu/virtual_edge/lab15/introduction.htm http://www.slideshare.net/biancaisaguirre/biochemical-identification-of-bacteria http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/experiments/importance-of-biochemical-tests-of-bacteria/26624/ http://www.uwyo.edu/virtual_edge/lab15/introduction.htm http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/experiments/importance-of-biochemical-tests-of-bacteria/26624/ http://guides.baker.edu/c.php?g=303096&p=2028586 http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/experiments/importance-of-biochemical-tests-of-bacteria/26624/ http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/experiments/importance-of-biochemical-tests-of-bacteria/26624/ http://www.himedialabs.com/intl/en/applications/Clinical-Microbiology-Biochemical--Identification/30
importance of biochemical tests in identification of bacteria