modification of Nutrient Agar. Nutrient Agar 1.

5% is a general purpose medium, with a slightly

alkaline pH [1]. Product Summary and Explanation In the early 1900's, the American Public Health
Association (APHA) suggested the formula of Nutrient Agar as a standard culture medium used in water
testing. 1 Nutrient Agar is specified in many standard method procedures. 2-6 Nutrient Agar 1.5% is aher
supplements for cultivating fastidious microorganisms. Principles of the Procedure The nitrogen, carbon,
vitamins, and amino acids are provided by Enzymatic Digest of Gelatin and Beef Extract. Sodium Chloride
maintains the osmotic balance of the medium so red blood cells will not rupture when the medium is
supplemented with blood. 2 Agar is the solidifying agent [1].

Plant roots show a particularly high variation in their morphological response to different
nutrient deficiencies. Although such changes often determine the nutrient efficiency or stress tolerance
of plants, it is surprising that a comprehensive and comparative analysis of root morphological
responses to different nutrient deficiencies has not yet been conducted. Since one reason for this is an
inherent difficulty in obtaining nutrient-deficient conditions in agar culture, we first identified conditions
appropriate for producing nutrient-deficient plants on agar plates. Based on a careful selection of agar
specifically for each nutrient being considered, we grew Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) plants at four
levels of deficiency for 12 nutrients and quantified seven root traits. In combination with measurements
of biomass and elemental concentrations, we observed that the nutritional status and type of nutrient
determined the extent and type of changes in root system architecture (RSA). The independent
regulation of individual root traits further pointed to a differential sensitivity of root tissues to nutrient
limitations. To capture the variation in RSA under different nutrient supplies, we used principal
component analysis and developed a root plasticity chart representing the overall modulations in RSA
under a given treatment. This systematic comparison of RSA responses to nutrient deficiencies provides
a comprehensive view of the overall changes in root plasticity induced by the deficiency of single
nutrients and provides a solid basis for the identification of nutrient-sensitive steps in the root
developmental program [2]

Bacteriological media come an a wide range of types. Nutrient Agar is a complex medium because it
contains ingredients with contain unknown amounts or types of nutrients. Nutrient Agar contains
Beef Extract (0.3%), Peptone (0.5%) and Agar (1.5%) in water. Beef extract is the commercially
prepared dehydrated form of autolysed beef and is supplied in the form of a paste. Peptone is
casein (milk protein) that has been digested with the enzyme pepsin. Peptone is dehydrated and
supplied as a powder. Peptone and Beef Extract contain a mixture of amino acids and peptides.
Beef Extract also contains water soluble digest products of all other macromolecules (nucleic acids,
fats, polysaccharides) as well as vitamins and trace minerals. Although we know and can define
Beef Extract in these terms, each bach can not be chemically defined. There are many media
ingredients which are complex: yeast extract, tryptone, and others. The advantage of complex
media is that they support the growth of a wide range of microbes [3].

[1] Difco & BBL, “Nutrient agar,” Difco BBL Man. Microb. Cell Cult., 2009.

[2] B. D. Gruber, R. F. H. Giehl, S. Friedel, and N. von Wirén, “Plasticity of the Arabidopsis root system
under nutrient deficiencies,” Plant Physiol., 2013.

[3] C. Thus, “Preparation of nutrient agar,” J. Microbiol. Methods, 2014.