Pure bacterial colonies

  1. When an agar plate is inoculated, why is the loop sterilized after the initial inoculum is put on?
  2. Distinguish between a pure culture and a mixed culture.
  3. Define a bacterial colony. List four characteristics by which bacterial colonies may
    be distinguished.
  4. Why should a Petri dish not be left open for any extended period?
  5. Why does the streaking method you used to inoculate your plates result in isolated colonies?
    Exercise 5: Pour plate and streaking technique to obtain pure cultures
  6. Discuss the relative convenience of pour- and streak-plate techniques in culturing clinical
    specimens.
  7. How do you decide which colonies should be picked from a plate culture of a mixed flora?
  8. Why is it necessary to make pure subcultures of organisms grown from clinical specimens?
  9. What kinds of clinical specimens may yield a mixed flora in bacterial cultures?
  10. When more than one colony type appears in pure culture, what are the most likely sources of
    extraneous contamination?
    Exercise 3: Primary media for isolation of microorganisms
  11. Define a differential medium and discuss its purpose.
  12. Define a selective medium and describe its uses.
  13. Why is MacConkey agar selective as well as differential?
  14. Why is blood agar useful as a primary isolation medium?
  15. What is the major difference between Modified Thayer-Martin (MTM) and chocolate agar? When
    would you use MTM rather than chocolate agar