Allow students to explore a well-studied Gram-positive organism, Staphylococcus aureus. This spherical (coccus) bacterium is commonly found in the respiratory tract and on skin, with some strains being pathogenic, causing boils and abscesses. Antibiotic-resistant strains, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA), can cause a variety of problems, from skin to blood infections.
After asexual reproduction by binary fission, the daughter cells tend to stick together. This causes grape-like clusters to form, which can easily be seen by students. The Staphylococcus aureus slide is an excellent example for basic histology and pathology studies.