How do you observe Lactobacillus bacterium?

Since, lactobacillus is a microorganism we can’t see it with unaided eyes. In order to see lactobacillus bacteria we need to observe it under the microscope and for observing under the microscope we need to prepare the slide of buttermilk.

We will follow following steps for the slide preparation:

● Take a clean glass slide.

● Take drop equivalent buttermilk on the slide and spread it using an inoculation loop in order to get a thin smear for better visualization. If we won’t spread it we won’t be able to get a better picture.

● Now, we need to heat fix the bacteria in order to cause their fixation. We will slightly heat the slide for 2-3 seconds and don’t let it get burn.

● Allow it to cool and add 2 drops of crystal violet in order to stain them. Wait for 1 minute. Don’t add excess amount of crystal violet as it will cause over staining.

● Wash the slide with distilled water in order to remove extra stain.

● Clean the other portion of slide using tissue paper and let it air dry.

● After that observe the slide under compound microscope.

Using above steps we can observe the lactobacillus bacteria.

Fig: Lactobacillus bacteria under the microscope