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Winogradsky Column

The document discusses Winogradsky columns, which are glass bottles or containers used to study microbial communities. Sergei Winogradsky developed this method in the 1880s to observe microbes growing together naturally in mixed cultures, rather than isolated. To make a column, mud, water, egg yolk and paper are layered in a bottle and left in sunlight. Over weeks, different colored layers of microbes will form as the community develops. The columns allow observation of natural microbial interactions and activities in a contained environment.

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DANIA PURNAMA
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182 views10 pages

Winogradsky Column

The document discusses Winogradsky columns, which are glass bottles or containers used to study microbial communities. Sergei Winogradsky developed this method in the 1880s to observe microbes growing together naturally in mixed cultures, rather than isolated. To make a column, mud, water, egg yolk and paper are layered in a bottle and left in sunlight. Over weeks, different colored layers of microbes will form as the community develops. The columns allow observation of natural microbial interactions and activities in a contained environment.

Uploaded by

DANIA PURNAMA
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Winogradsky column:

Microbial ecology in a bottle

Dr. Nani Maryani


Serang, 27 May 2021
What is a Winogradsky column?
• Metode menumbuhkan microorganisme dengan menggunakan tanah
lumpur, botol atau container kaca, dengan tambahan beberapa bahan
sederhana lainnya.

• What to do?
Ambil tanah lumpur, air, tambahkan kuning telur dan kertas, masukkan
ke dalam botol, tutup botol agak longgar, simpan botol di tempat yang
terpapar cahaya matahari, dan biarkan mikroba berkembang.

• Dengan lumpur di dalam botol, mikroba mulai tumbuh pada setiap


lapisan dengan membentuk warna-warna berbeda.
The Winogradsky column

https://justinedees.com/2020/04/09/winogradsky-column/
Why is it called a Winogradsky column?
• Sergei Winogradsky from Russia lived in
the 1880s developed this method to
better understand microbial
communities.
• He wanted to study the microbes when
they were together—in mixed culture—
rather than in pure culture or isolated as
individual species.
What is a microbial community?
• A microbial community is a group of microbes that all live together in a
particular environment.

• In the late 1800s, the microbiologist Robert Koch figured out how to
separate individual species through the pure culture method.

• Naturally, microbes do not live in isolation. Most of the time, they are
together in communities, such as in the body, in the plants, even out in
nature in the soil—in the mud.

• Sergei Winogradsky wanted to understand microorganisms in their


natural habitat, in their natural surroundings, with their natural fellow
occupants in competition.
Why make a Winogradsky
column?
• A great activity to learn about microbes.
• Its fun :D
• You can create multiple columns to try out
different parameters (various water
sources, tap water, a river, or from oceans).
• It take week for the column to start
producing some color (4-8 weeks).
How to make a Winogradsky Column
Materials: Other ingredients to try:
Basic ingredients:
•Straw
Bucket •Mud (source of microbes)
•Leaves
•Water (source of microbes)
Shovel •Bark
•Egg yolk (sulfur source)
•Metal
Spoon •Newspaper (carbon source)
•Shells
Bowls •Sunlight or Lamp (light source)
•Insect parts
Tall jar or plastic bottle •Salt
•Acid source
Scissors
•Alkaline source
Plastic wrap
Rubber band
Instructions
• Draw a line on your bottle at about ¼ from the top and then another line at
about ¼ from the bottom.
• Go out and collect some mud and water.
• Cut the newspaper into small pieces.
• In a small mixing bowl, add the egg yolk (raw or hard-boiled) and newspaper
and a small amount of mud, at least as much to fill the bottle ¼ of the way. If
you are including additional ingredients, add them to this mixture.
• Fill the bottle ¼ way with the mud, egg yolk, newspaper mixture.
• Add mud to the top line.
• Add water almost to the top. Leave a small amount of space.
• Cover the column with plastic wrap and a rubber band (do not put a tight lid on
because it may explode due to gases released by the microbes).
• Set it in the sunlight or under a lamp.
• Let your column go and watch for changes over the next 4 to 8 weeks.
• Take pictures of the changes

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