Make A Home For Microbes To Understand Their Behavior

Make A Home For Microbes To Understand Their Behavior

by The American Museum of Natural History, on January 27, 2016

Grade Level

6 - 8

minutes

Multi-day

subject

Life Science

stem practices

Activity Type:

, ,

How to Make Your Own Winogradsky Column

Your body is home to trillions and trillions of tiny living things called microbes, and most of them live in your digestive tract.

1 bacteria long

And no wonder, it is a warm and sheltered place filled with food—a perfect spot for bacteria! But not all microbes live in the same place. Based on the habitat they’re most suited for, different species of bacteria live in different parts of the tract.

Take an interactive tummy tour here.

 

Build an ecosystem for microbes to see how they separate into their own habitats.

2 winogradsky long
The Winogradsky column was named after Sergei Winogradsky, a Russian microbiologist.

With just a few cupfuls of mud and other simple ingredients, you can create an entire ecosystem for bacteria called a Winogradsky column. In this sealed system, microbes reuse and recycle nutrients continuously. Over time, different species separate into visible layers depending on how they use—or don’t use—oxygen, light, and nutrients such as carbon or sulfur. Each bacterial species finds its habitat according to its needs—much like in your digestive tract.

 

What You Need: The Bottle

a 2-liter plastic bottle

scissors

permanent marker

large rubber band

plastic wrap

data collection notebook

crayons, color pencils, or markers

camera (optional)

What You Need: Ingredients

mud

shovel and bucket (to dig and carry the mud)

water (from the tap or your mud source)

pitcher or small plastic bottle (to carry the water)

spoon and 2 mixing bowls (1 large, 1 medium)

a page of newspaper, shredded

an egg yolk (raw or hard-boiled)

rubber boots and old clothes that can get muddy (optional)

gloves (optional)

  • A bowl, scissors, a plastic shovel and trowel, plastic bottles, a bucket, a clipboard, newspaper, plastic wrap, a rubber band, and markers sit on a wooden table.

    Part 1: Prepare the Stuff

    Click through the slideshow to see the steps to prepare the ingredients for your Winogradsky column.

  • A man shows two learners how to cut a plastic bottle with scissors.

    Step 1

    Carefully cut off the curved top of the plastic bottle. Ask an adult to help you.

  • A person carefully marks the plastic bottle with a marker.

    Step 2

    Draw two short lines on the bottle: one about a quarter from the bottom of the bottle, the other a quarter of the way from the top.

  • Learners dig up mud from the edge of a pond.

    Steps 3 & 4

    Dig up mud from a pond, rain puddle, or riverbed. The mud is full of microbes! Fill your bucket with enough mud to fill the plastic bottle.

    Remove rocks, twigs, or other solid matter from mud. Be careful of broken glass.

  • A plastic water bottle filled with pond water.

    Step 5

    Collect water from the mud source (or use tap water).

  • A person cuts up newspaper.

    Steps 6 & 7

    Cut a sheet of newspaper into thin strips. Then, cut the strips into tiny rectangles. These will provide carbon for the microbes in the mud.

    If using a hard-boiled egg, ask an adult to help you cook it. The yolk will provide sulfur for the microbes in the mud.

  • A person mixes water and mud in a bowl.

    Step 8

    Put enough mud into the large mixing bowl to fill three-quarters of the bottle. Add water and stir until mud is the consistency of a milkshake.

  • Shredded newspaper and an egg yolk are added to the mud.

    Step 9

    Transfer about one-fourth of the mud-shake into the medium mixing bowl. Stir in a handful of shredded newspaper and add the egg yolk.

  • Two learners add materials to a plastic bottle.

    Part 2: Make the Ecosystem

    Click through the slideshow to learn how to combine ingredients inside your Winogradsky column.

  • Learners fill the plastic bottle with mud and other materials.

    Step 10

    Spoon the egg yolk and newspaper mud mixture into the plastic bottle until it’s about a quarter of the way from the bottom (stop at the line). Once in a while, gently tap the bottle on on a hard surface to remove air pockets as the mud settles to the bottom.

  • Two learners add materials to a plastic bottle.

    Step 11

    Spoon the regular mud mixture into the bottle until it’s about a quarter of the way from the top (stop at the line). Gently tap the bottle on the table to remove air pockets.

  • Learners add pond water to the plastic bottle.

    Step 12

    Top with a little bit of water, leaving about an inch of air at the top.

  • Smiling learners hold up their completed column.

    Step 13 & 14

    Cover the bottle with plastic wrap and secure with a rubber band.

    Place your column in a brightly lit place.

Part 3: Track the Microbes' Movement

Mud and water in the column have settled into layers.Over the next eight to ten weeks, watch for various color layers to form as microbes separate into their habitats.

At least once a week, on the same day at the same time, write down and draw any changes you see, including colors, the movement or thickening of sediment, and any differences between the side facing the light and the once facing away. You can also take photos for comparison. Note the day and time the photo was taken.

 

 

Part 4: Identify the Microbes

Just as no two people’s gut microbes are exactly the same, no two Winogradsky columns are the same. Depending on the microbes present and the amount of nutrients available, many different layers may form.

Check out some common microbes that might grow in your column. Does yours include any of them?

A diagram of Winogradsky Column Anatomy.

A: Oxygen levels are highest at the top of the column. Microbes that that grow here use oxygen and not sulfur.

B: Sulfur levels are highest at the bottom of the column. Microbes that grow here can survive without oxygen and instead use sulfur.

C: Some microbes use different wavelengths of visible light to make food. The first changes you see might be green or purple spots on the side of the column facing the light source. These spots are photosynthetic microbes. If there is too much light or not enough light, these microbes will not grow.

D: GREEN Cyanobacteria
Oxygen levels are highest near the top. Here, cyanobacteria use sunlight, carbon, and hydrogen to produce energy while giving off oxygen.

E: PURPLE, BROWN, ORANGE, RED Non-sulfur bacteria
In the mud in the middle, purple non-sulfur bacteria get energy from sunlight and carbon. They convert carbon-rich plant materials, like newspapers, into carbon dioxide.

F: PURPLE AND DARK GREEN Sulfur bacteria
A little lower, purple and green sulfur bacteria use light, carbon, and hydrogen.

G: BLACK Sulfur-reducing bacteria
Sulfur levels are highest near the bottom. Here, sulfate-reducing bacteria that cannot tolerate oxygen use the egg yolk. This process releases hydrogen sulfide, which, not surprisingly, smells like rotten eggs!

Experiment with More Winogradsky Columns!

Want to see how varying nutrients and sunlight will affect the microbe layers? Create more columns with these different conditions and compare the results.

A diagram suggests ways to vary the nutrients in the column including using a combination of egg yolk and newspaper in one column, only newspaper in a second column, and only egg yolk in the third column. It notes that the same amount of sunlight and the same source of microbes should be used for all the columns.

A diagram suggests varying the amount of sunlight for the column. For example, in column one place the column in a brightly lit place so it experiences day and night, in a column two put it under light all day and night, and in column three place it in the dark. It notes that the nutrients and source of microbes should not vary.

A diagram suggests ways to vary the source of the microbes. For example, in column one collect mud from pond or riverbed, for column two collected a different source of mud, sand, or soil, and for column three, collect a third source of mud or soil. It notes that the amount of sunlight and nutrients should not change.

Want to Learn More About Microbes?

The Secret World Inside You exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History explores the rapidly evolving science that is revealing the complexities of the human microbiome and reshaping our ideas about human health.

Learners and a caregiver experience a museum exhibit.

Illustrations: © Liz Vernon/AMNH, Photos: L. Johnsonii, courtesy of Kathryn Cross/Institute of Food Research; Sergei Winogradsky, © Wikimedia Commons; Materials and steps, © AMNH

Meet the Writer

About The American Museum of Natural History

The American Museum of Natural History in New York City is one of the world’s preeminent scientific, educational, and cultural institutions, drawing millions of visitors each year. Visit amnh.org for more information.

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