Libreivans pet mold

06/03/2024

My dear friend Libreivan decided to grow a pet mold , no context needed but it inspired a really cool conversation about mold , moss and something else I wont be mentioning so I'm gunna share some cool science facts about mold and why it differs from moss :)

Growing your mold

Mold is a type of bacteria , if you plan on culturing(growing) bacteria like my awesomely chaotic friend decided to do , the safe way of doing it would be as following:

Culturing bacteria (the right way)

some things you will need are:

.Agar gel

.A petre dish

.A bunsen burner (or some form of fire (be careful!))

.A glass spreader

.Some E.coli

and ideally some Sellotape (this ones more optional)

The experiment:

.The first thing you will want to do is heat up your agar gel , followed by putting it inside the petre dish , letting it cool down

.Secondly , use your bunsen burner (or source of fire if you don't have a bunsen burner) to sterilize your glass spreader

.Once your glass spreader has cooled down (as to not kill the bacteria you're trying to culture) , dip it into your e.coli and shake off the droplets in its container , placing it's lid back on quickly (to avoid any toxins)

.Spread the E.coli on the agar gel in your petre dish and place its lid on top , sealing it with Sellotape if you have any

. Leave for a few days - a few weeks and check up on it , feel free to document its growth but dispose of it when your done :)

Prokaryotic and eukaryotic

As mentioned previously , mold is a bacteria , bacteria's being prokaryotic cells. Prokaryotic cells share two characteristics with both of the eukaryotic cells (animal , algae and plant cells) which are:

.cell membranes

-Cell membranes are both to protect the cell as well as provide a fixed environment inside of the cell

.cytoplasm.

-Cytoplasm are responsible for the shape of the cell , stores and protects the components of the cell , it also contains the molecules required for cellular processes

-Plant cells and bacteria both have cell walls (animal cells do not)

Theres a slight difference between the cell walls in bacterium and plant cells however , they both require cell walls for protection and structure but plant cells contain cellulose as the majority of their cell walls because it helps plants to remain stiff and upright which helps plants to make the most of their resources for photosynthesis.

I'll write more about the functions of the membrane , cellular processes and the components of the cell wall on my biology page :)

Eukaryotic cell structure and function

Eukaryotic cells are multicellular organisms , meaning that they work together to perform a function in a system.

These individual cells work together to perform a function as tissue which would be a collection of cells working together to perform a function ,

this tissue works together to construct organs ,

leading to an organ system ,

making up an organism (plant or animal).

Animal cells

Plant cells

Plants differ from animals because they make their own food through photosynthesis , the chloroplasts in the cells of the plant that contain chlorophyll which absorb light , this is how the plant photosynthesises.

The cell walls in plant cells mostly contain cellulose , making them better known as the cellulose cell wall which strengthen the cell wall to help support helping the permanent vacuole keep the the plant rigid and stand upright , allowing the plant to absorb the most light for a higher rate of photosynthesis.

More on the permanent vacuole - It has a space in the cytoplasm which is filled with cell sap.

Algal cells

Algae are aquatic organisms which , much like plant cells , make their own food through photosynthesis.

Algal cells contain chloroplasts and a nucleus to photosynthesis as well as a cellulose cell wall however those are the only components that algal cells share with plant cells.

Prokaryotic cell structure

Prokaryotic cells are single-celled meaning that they do NOT work together to perform a function

They also don't have a nucleus like eukaryotic cells do , instead they have a single loop of DNA as well as plasmids which are small rings of DNA

Plasmids - A key difference between plasmids and the loop of DNA is that plasmids carry genes in order to replicate individually and are structured as closed circles to travel to different bacterium

-This allows bacteria to evolve , leading to it becoming immune to more antibiotics but I'll delve into the antibiotic crisis that biology lovers worry about later lol

The single loop of DNA in a eukaryotic cell differ to this because they are loose , and stay in the cell , containing information the rest of the characteristics rely on

Another characteristic of prokaryotic cells are the flagellum.

-The flagellum looks like a tail and is attached to the cell wall