CULTURES

CULTURE AND CULTURE - Growth of microorganisms in a culture media. Utilizing effective

and appropriate culture media for growth, transport, and storage

MEDIA facilitates the study in Bacteriology

CULTURE MEDIA
- Composed of a mixture of nutrients such as carbon, nitrogen,
WILSON R. DELOS REYES JR., RMT, MLS(ASCPi), MSMT, MD sulfur, phosphorus, hydrogen, oxygen and buffers
TYPES:
- Liquid, Semi-solid and Solid Medium

TYPES OF CULTURE CLASSIFICATION OF CULTURE MEDIA

PURE CULTURE 1. According to Consistency
- It is composed of only one species 2. According to COmposition
3. According to Dispensing or Distribution Method for the
MIXED CULTURE
Medium
- It is composed of more than one species 4. According to Use
STOCK CULTURE
- It is composed several culture species contained in a separate
culture medium (one species per culture medium).
- It is used for academic and industrial purposes.
A. ACCORDING TO CONSISTENCY
1. LIQUID MEDIUM
- It does not contain any amount of agar
- It allows the growth of aerobes,
anaerobes and facultative anaerobes
- Ex: Brain heart infusion, trypticase soy
broth (TSB) and thioglycollate.
ACCORDING TO CONSISTENCY
3. SOLID MEDIUM
- It contains 2% to 3% agar
- Ex: Triple sugar Iron (TSI) agar,
MacCOnkey (MAC) agar, Blood agar
plate (BAP) and Chocolate agar plate
(CAP)
ACCORDING TO CONSISTENCY
1. SEMI-SOLID MEDIUM
- It contains 0.5% to 1% Agar
- It is used to observe bacterial motility
and detect indole and sulfide
production
- Ex: Sulfide Indole Motility (SIM) Medium
B. ACCORDING TO COMPOSITION
1. SYNTHETIC OR DEFINED MEDIUM
- Medium in which all the
components are known
- Used for research purposes
- Preferred for isolation of
cyanobacterium and
chemoorganotrophs
- Ex: BG-11 medium
B. ACCORDING TO COMPOSITION B. ACCORDING TO COMPOSITION
2. NON-SYNTHETIC or COMPLEX MEDIUM 3. TISSUE CULTURE MEDIUM
- Medium in which some substances are unknown - Used for obligate intracellular bacteria (R ickettsia and
- Peptones, Meat and Yeast Extract C hlamydia).
- Useful for isolation of medically significant bacteria - Example: W138 cells, HeLA 299 Cells and McCoy cells
- Ex: Nutrient broth (NB) broth medium, TSB and MAC agar
HeLa 299 cells Human cervical tissue
McCoy cells Fibroblast
W138 cells Fibroblast

B. ACCORDING TO COMPOSITION C. ACCORDING TO THE DISPENSING OR DISTRIBUTION

3. TISSUE CULTURE MEDIUM PLATE MEDIA
- Distributed into the dish or plate
TUBE MEDIA
- Prepared as either liquid, slant, butt and slant or butt
EXAMPLES:
- Triple sugar iron (TSI)
- SIM
- Simmon’s citrate agar
- Lysine iron agar (LIA)
C. ACCORDING TO THE
D. ACCORDING TO USE
DISPENSING OR DISTRIBUTION
1. SIMPLE MEDIA, GENERAL PURPOSE MEDIA AND SUPPORTIVE
MEDIA
- Routinely used in the laboratory and without additional
supplement
- Support the growth of most non-fastidious bacteria
- Usually composed of meat and soybean extract
- Ex: Nutrient agar, Nutrient broth and Tryptone soy broth (TSB)

D. ACCORDING TO USE D. ACCORDING TO USE

BLOOD AGAR PLATE CHOCOLATE AGAR PLATE
2. Enrichment media (Liquid-type media)
- Hemolytic pattern of bacteria - Recovery of Haemophilus
- Used to propagate the growth of certain group of bacteria from
a mixture of organisms.
- Contain specific nutrients and without additional supplement
- Example: Alkaline peptone water, Selenite F, Thioglycollate,
Tetrathionate, Gram-negative (GN) broth and Lim broth
D. ACCORDING TO USE D. ACCORDING TO USE
4. Differential Media MacConkey Agar Blood Agar Plate

- These media allow the visualization of metabolic differences - Indicator: Neutral red - Differentiate hemolytic pattern
between groups of bacteria of streptococci
- Example: MAC, BAP, eosin methylene blue (EMB) and Hektoen
Enteric Agar (HEA)

D. ACCORDING TO USE D. ACCORDING TO USE

5. Selective Media 5. Selective Media

- These media are incorporated with antibiotics, dyes or
chemicals to inhibit the growth of other organisms.
- Example: HEA, MAC, Xylose lysine desoxycholate (XLD) agar,
Bismuth sulfate agar (BSA), Mannitol Salt Agar (MSA) and
Thayer-Martin Agar (TMA)
Other selective media:
- Gentamicin blood agar: Streptococcus
- Bacitracin chocolate agar: Haemophilus
- Blood agar plate with ampicillin: Aeromonas
- Phenylethyl alcohol: Gram positive bacteria
- Colistin-Nalidixic acid (CNA) agar: Gram positive bacteria
 D. ACCORDING TO USE
D. ACCORDING TO USE
5. Selective Media
5. Selective Media MEDIA DESCRIPTION

Inhibitory substances Hektoen Enteric Agar (HEA) Bile salt and dyes: Inhibit indigenous microbiota of LGIT;
used for recovery of fecal bacteria
pH indicator: Bromthymol blue

Gram Positive Bacteria Crystal/Gentian violet,
basic/carbol fuchsin and bile salt
Gram Negative Bacteria Potassium tellurite and sodium
azide
MacConkey Agar (MAC)
Xylose Lysine Desoxycholate Agar (XLD)
Bile salts and crystal violet: inhibit gram-positive bacteria;
used for recovery of fecal bacteria
Xylose, lysine, sucrose, 0.25% sodium desoxycholate
and sodium thiosulfate; for fecal bacteria
Differentiate: Shigella and Salmonella

For Swarming Bacteria Alcohol and chloral hydrate Mannitol Salt Agar (MSA) Support growth of Staphylococcus aureus

Thayer-Martin Agar (TMA) Selective for Neisseria sp.

Xylose lysine desoxycholate Agar D. ACCORDING TO USE

6. Special Media

- Used to isolate bacteria with specific growth requirements

- Example: Lowenstein-Jensen (LJ) medium and Thiosulfate
citrate–bile salts-sucrose (TCBS) agar.
D. ACCORDING TO USE
LOWENSTEIN-JENSEN MEDIUM
D. According to Use

Composed of Whole eggs and malachite green