LEVEL 03 · LESSON 02
Where contamination comes from
See it
Microbial contamination can originate on or inside source plants, from the laboratory environment, tools, vessels, water, media components, operators, or cross-contamination between cultures. Endophytic organisms can be especially difficult because they may be inside plant tissues.
Understand it
The source plant is part of the contamination system.
Repeated contamination patterns can reveal a process or source problem.
Latent contamination may not be obvious immediately.
Important boundary
A clear vessel today does not prove that the culture is contamination-free.
Try it
Explain the concept in your own words, then identify what plant, explant, stage, units, source, or observation context would need to be preserved before applying it.
Lesson quiz
Apply it
Connect this lesson to an actual MyTCLab record: what fields would you need in order to know later exactly what happened and why?