Biochemical Test and Identification of Bacteria

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Biochemical reactions are significant in the identification of bacterial isolates and in the identification of different bacterial species. These tests depend on the presence of certain enzymes, such as catalase, oxidase, urease, gelatinase, etc., produced by the bacteria.

Different bacteria produce varying spectra of enzymes. For example, some enzymes are necessary for the bacterium’s individual metabolism, and some facilitate the bacterium’s ability to compete with other bacteria or establish an infection. Tests that measure single bacterial enzymes are simple, rapid, and generally easy to interpret. They can be performed on organisms already grown in culture and often provide presumptive identification.

Biochemical Test of Bacteria

Table of Contents

Interesting Science Videos

Click on the link below to learn the biochemical reactions of specific bacteria.

  1. Biochemical Test of Acinetobacter baumannii

  2. Biochemical Test of Actinomyces israelii

  3. Biochemical Test of Aeromonas caviae

  4. Biochemical Test of Aeromonas hydrophila

  5. Biochemical Test of Alcaligenes faecalis subsp. faecalis

  6. Biochemical Test of Bacillus anthracis

  7. Biochemical Test of Bacillus cereus

  8. Biochemical Test of Bacillus subtilis

  9. Biochemical Test of Bacteroides fragilis

  10. Biochemical Test of Bifidobacterium bifidum

  11. Biochemical Test of Bordetella pertussis

  12. Biochemical Test of Brucella melitensis

  13. Biochemical Test of Burkholderia cepacia

  14. Biochemical Test of Burkholderia pseudomallei

  15. Biochemical Test of Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus

  16. Biochemical Test of Campylobacter jejuni

  17. Biochemical Test of Chlamydia trachomatis

  18. Biochemical test of Citrobacter freundii

  19. Biochemical Test of Clostridium botulinum

  20. Biochemical Test of Clostridium difficile

  21. Biochemical Test of Clostridium perfringens

  22. Biochemical Test of Clostridium tetani

  23. Biochemical Test of Corynebacterium diphtheriae

  24. Biochemical Test of Edwardsiella tarda

  25. Biochemical Test of Enterobacter aerogenes

  26. Biochemical Test of Enterobacter cloacae

  27. Biochemical Test of Enterococcus faecalis

  28. Biochemical Test of Enterococcus faecium

  29. Biochemical Test of Escherichia coli (E. coli)

  30. Biochemical Test of Francisella tularensis subsp. tularensis

  31. Biochemical Test of Fusobacterium necrophorum

  32. Biochemical Test of Gardnerella vaginalis

  33. Biochemical Test of Haemophilus aegyptius

  34. Biochemical Test of Haemophilus influenzae

  35. Biochemical Test of Haemophilus parainfluenzae

  36. Biochemical Test of Hafnia alvei

  37. Biochemical Test of Helicobacter pylori

  38. Biochemical Test of Kingella kingae

  39. Biochemical Test of Klebsiella granulomatis

  40. Biochemical Test of Klebsiella oxytoca

  41. Biochemical Test of Klebsiella pneumoniae

  42. Biochemical Test of Lactobacillus spp.

  43. Biochemical Test of Listeria monocytogenes

  44. Biochemical Test of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

  45. Biochemical Test of Neisseria gonorrhoeae

  46. Biochemical Test of Proteus mirabilis

  47. Biochemical Test of Providencia stuartii

  48. Biochemical Test of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

  49. Biochemical Test of Salmonella Typhi

  50. Biochemical Test of Serratia marcescens

  51. Biochemical Test of Shigella flexneri

  52. Biochemical Test of Staphylococcus aureus

  53. Biochemical Test of Staphylococcus epidermidis

  54. Biochemical Test of Streptococcus agalactiae

  55. Biochemical Test of Streptococcus canis

  56. Biochemical Test of Streptococcus mutans

  57. Biochemical Test of Streptococcus pneumoniae

  58. Biochemical Test of Streptococcus pyogenes

  59. Biochemical Test of Vibrio cholerae

  60. Biochemical Test of Yersinia pestis

About Author

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Sagar Aryal

Sagar Aryal is a microbiologist and a scientific blogger. He is doing his Ph.D. at the Central Department of Microbiology, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal. He was awarded the DAAD Research Grant to conduct part of his Ph.D. research work for two years (2019-2021) at Helmholtz-Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Saarbrucken, Germany. Sagar is interested in research on actinobacteria, myxobacteria, and natural products. He is the Research Head of the Department of Natural Products, Kathmandu Research Institute for Biological Sciences (KRIBS), Lalitpur, Nepal. Sagar has more than ten years of experience in blogging, content writing, and SEO. Sagar was awarded the SfAM Communications Award 2015: Professional Communicator Category from the Society for Applied Microbiology (Now: Applied Microbiology International), Cambridge, United Kingdom (UK). Sagar is also the ASM Young Ambassador to Nepal for the American Society for Microbiology since 2023 onwards.

3 thoughts on “Biochemical Test and Identification of Bacteria”

  1. Hello Sir,
    I’m Vinay Pradhan from India.
    Mu studied MSc Microbiology & Iam current Reasearch Associate bacteriology
    very helpful your notes
    I m studying your notes time to time
    More benifits this notes thank you so much Sir.

    Reply

  2. I’m working on sulfute reducing bacteria, they were isolated successfully. Please can you help me with manual(s) for their identification?
    Many researches were reporting Bergey’s Manual, but i couldn’t find it in the said Bergey Manual of Determinative bacteriology.

    Reply

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