Microbiology Portage - Module 4
Microbial Growth and Control Already
Passed
Expanding a given microbial population allows researchers to do what? ✔✔to detect and assess
the microorganism more easily
What is Growth M
...
Microbiology Portage - Module 4
Microbial Growth and Control Already
Passed
Expanding a given microbial population allows researchers to do what? ✔✔to detect and assess
the microorganism more easily
What is Growth Media? ✔✔Growth media is a liquid or solid formulated to support microbial
growth.
What does Growth Media contain? ✔✔The media contains essential nutrients to provide the
microbe with a source of carbon/energy. The nutrient composition often includes a rich source of
sugars, amino acids and vitamins.
What else can Growth Media also be called? ✔✔Such media can also be referred to as a nutrient
broth and is commonly used to grow microbes in a suspension.
Describe LB media ✔✔Perhaps the most common nutrient broth in the lab, LB media (lysogeny
broth) is a nutritionally rich liquid known for its ability to grow a vast array of microbes.
What is Selective Media? ✔✔Selective media allows for only the growth of certain microbes and,
by extension, restricts the growth of all others.
How can Selective Media be accomplished? ✔✔Such an approach can be accomplished in a
variety of ways including: using limiting amounts of nutrients, varying degrees of pH (being either
very acidic or very basic media), or various chemical additives that limit unwanted microbial
growth (i.e.) antibiotics.
Describe how Selective Media works with Gram-Positive versus Gram-Negative bacteria. ✔✔If a
plate is selective for Gram-Negative then it will only grow Gram-Negative bacteria on it. It will
not grow Gram-Positive bacteria on it.
What is Differential Media? ✔✔Differential media distinguishes between two, often related,
microbes.
What is one way that a Differential Media can distinguish between Escherichia coli and
Salmonella? ✔✔They are both Gram negative but can be distinguished by the presence (or
absence) of lactose fermentation.
If grown on the same differential media, E coli ferments lactose and turns the culture red.
In contrast, Salmonella does not ferment lactose and the culture remains white/tan in color.
(This above example is probably on MacConkey agar)
What is a fastidious microorganism? ✔✔an organism with complex growth requirements such that
if absent it will not grow
What are Enriched Medias used for? ✔✔Enriched media is used to grow fastidious
microorganisms
Enriched Medias contain what? ✔✔enriched medias contain the essential nutrients required for
the growth of this subset of microorganisms
Can a plate be a combination of selective, differential and enriched? ✔✔Yes
Growth Media comes in what 2 forms? ✔✔liquid and solid
What is Solid Growth Media? ✔✔Solid growth media, often contained within a sterile petri dish,
is in its simplest form liquid growth media that has had a hardening agent added.
What makes agar? ✔✔The addition of a polysaccharide derived from seaweed (algae) extract
added to the liquid growth media creates a solid medium called agar.
What is a colony? ✔✔As they grow, microbes form colonies that take on the appearance of
individual isolated dots.
Why does dehydrated agar (and other necessary components) get mixed with water and heated to
a high temperature? ✔✔to dissolve the agar into solution. The high temperature also ensures
sterility as it will kill most, if not all, foreign microbes.
What is LB agar also known as? ✔✔lysogeny broth
What color is LB agar? ✔✔pale yellow
What types of microorganisms can grow on LB agar? ✔✔it is a multi-purpose media capable of
growing a wide variety of microorganisms
How is LB agar classified as far as Non-Selective, Selective and Differential? ✔✔LB is classified
as a non-selective and non-differential media.
LB agar is commonly used for growing what specific bacteria? ✔✔E. coli
Trypticase Soy Agar is also known as what? ✔✔TSA or TSAYE
What kind of media is Trypticase Soy Agar? ✔✔it is another multi-purpose media capable of
growing a wide variety of microorganisms
What color are Trypticase Soy Agar plates? ✔✔TSA plates are virtually identical in color to LB
plates (pale yellow)
How is TSA media classified as far as Non-Selective, Selective and Differential? ✔✔it is nonselective and non-differential
What does TSA serve as the base of? ✔✔it serves as the base when formulating specialized
(enriched) medias.
Blood agar is also known as what? ✔✔BAP (blood agar plates)
Blood agar is a derivative of what? ✔✔It is a derivative of TSA whereby mammalian blood, often
from sheep, is added to the plate.
What color is Blood agar? ✔✔Red
How is Blood agar classified as far as Non-Selective, Selective and Differential? ✔✔BAP is an
enriched, non-selective yet differential media.
What do the red blood cells in Blood agar promote the growth of? ✔✔fastidious microorganisms
such as various strains of Streptococcus.
Blood agar is a differential media used to detect what? ✔✔hemolytic activity.
Hemolysis, or the lysis (breakdown) of red blood cells is classified as what three types? ✔✔alpha,
beta or gamma.
When grown on Blood agar microbes capable of alpha hemolysis present as what? ✔✔greenishbrown color colonies due to the incomplete (partia
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