Culture Media for the Growth of

Bacteria

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 The purpose of using cultural techniques in microbiology

 For any bacterium to be propagated it is necessary to provide

the appropriate biochemical and biophysical environment.
• Depending up on the special needs of particular bacteria a
large variety and types of culture media have been developed
– Employed in the isolation and maintenance of pure
cultures of bacteria
• Bacteria can be identified based on their biochemical
and physiological properties

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The manner in which bacteria are cultivated, and the
purpose of culture media, varies widely

– Liquid media are used for growth of pure batch

cultures

– Solidified media are used widely for the isolation

of pure cultures for

• Estimating viable bacterial populations

• Variety of other purposes

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• Agar is used because of its unique physical properties

– it melts at 100 degrees and remains liquid until

cooled to 40 degrees

– because it cannot be metabolized by most bacteria.

– It is relatively inert; it simply holds (gels) nutrients

that are in aquaeous solution

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 Types of Culture Media

• A chemically-defined (synthetic)
– exact chemical composition is known.

– usually composed of pure biochemicals off the shelf

– requires the investigator to know the exact nutritional

requirements of the organisms in question
• A complex (undefined) medium
– exact chemical constitution of the medium is not
known.
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 – usually contain complex materials of biological origin such
– as blood or milk, yeast extract, beef extract
– provide the full range of growth factors that may be required
by an organism
• Most pathogenic bacteria of animals, which have adapted
themselves to growth in animal tissues, require complex
media for their growth.
• Few fastidious pathogens such as Treponema pallidu and
Mycobacterium leprae, artificial culture media and
conditions have not been established.
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 Defined medium

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 Complex medium for the growth of fastidious bacteria

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 Selective enrichment medium for growth of extreme
halophiles

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 Principles of selection and enrichment

 Basic

Support the growth of non-fastidious bacteria without giving any

particular bacteria an advantage.
Ex. sheep blood agar, tryptic soy broth
 Selective medium

• has a component(s) added to it which will

– inhibit or prevent the growth of certain types or species of
bacteria
– promote the growth of Microbial
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desired species.
Nutrition 10
• One can also adjust the physical conditions of a culture
medium, such as pH and temperature, to
– Render it selective for organisms that are able to grow
under these certain conditions.
 Differential medium

Allow one type of bacteria to show a characteristic to

differentiate it from other bacteria.
Ex. MacConkey agar, sheep blood agar
 Selective, differential medium for the isolation of
Staphylococcus aureus, contains
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 – a very high concentration of salt (which the staph will
tolerate) that inhibits most other bacteria
– mannitol as a source of fermentable sugar, and a pH
indicator dye
• From clinical specimens, only staph will grow.
• S. aureus is differentiated from S. epidermidis on the basis of
its ability to ferment mannitol
• Mannitol fermenting colonies (S. aureus) produce acid which
reacts with the indicator dye forming a colored yellow
around the colonies
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• Mannitol non-fermenters CoNs use other non-
fermentative substrates in the medium for growth and
do not form a yellow around their colonies.
 Enrichment medium
• Contains some component that permits the growth of
specific types or species of bacteria
– usually because they alone can utilize the
component from their environment
– Enrichment medium may have selective features.
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 Transport
 Culture media can be classified by consistency as:
• Solid
• Semi-solid
• Fluid

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