Question

An outbreak of food poisoning occurs at a family picnic after the growth of Staphylococcus aureus in unrefrigerated potato salad left sitting in the hot sun for several hours. What would microscopic examination of the potato salad reveal

Answer 1

Answer:

Clusters of cocci (i.e., grape-like cocci)

Explanation:

Cocci (in singular coccus) are spherical-shaped bacteria, while bacilli and spirilli are rod-shaped and spiral-shaped bacteria, respectively (in general, bacteria can be divided into these three categories by shape). Staphylococcus aureus forms irregular clusters of cocci (i.e., grape-like cocci) when viewed through a microscope. Some Gram-positive cocci include, for example, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae. These species are well known to be bacterial pathogens capable of infecting humans.