Residents in your college town are falling ill and there is concern that fecal contamination of the water supply is
to blame. Your municipal council is hiring your students to investigate and identify the source of contamination.
This article deconstructs a multi-week freshman-level biology lab sequence focused on a case study/scenario-
based investigation. A suite of microbiological techniques including microscopy, simple and Gram staining of
bacteria, growth phenotype on selective and differential media, and presumptive water testing are employed to
identify the source of contamination. Students learn and practice techniques needed to identify the presence of
fecal coliform bacteria in water samples containing mixed bacterial cultures. novel strategies for economical
media usage and high-success Gram staining are described. Finally, methods for simple modification of this lab
scenario are described to tailor this experience to any campus location to leverage the link between student
engagement and personal experience.
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