Endospore Formation Lab

For the Endospore Formation Lab, I hypothesized that the endospores observed under the phase contrast microscope would have fewer colonies and less variety after pasteurization. These results are expected because endospores can withstand excessive heat, giving them a competitive advantage over bacteria that can hardly form endospores, thus killing the vegetative cells. As the formation of a rich nutrient environment will allow bacteria to grow, once the process of pasteurization occurs the bacteria that have not formed endospores will die and the bacteria that have formed endospores will prosper.