With these results, it is possible to make a guess of what kind of bacteria the unknown was. With the bacteria being gram positive and catalase positive it suggests the bacteria is a Bacillus, Staphylococcus, …show more content…
Bacillus Stratosphericus is a strain of bacteria that is often found high in the atmosphere, it can be found upwards of 40 km, but can be found on the ground. Bacillus Stratosphericus are rod shaped (bacilli), gram and catalase positive, and can survive in salt concentrations up to 11%, indicating it could grow on an MSA plate (Shivaji et al 2006). These characteristics are mostly consistent with the lab results. The one inconsistency is the shape of bacteria. This can likely be attributed to human error as even with a microscope it is still difficult to determine the shape of a