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Isolation Methods for Pure Cultures

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  • Isolation of pure cultures involves separating a single species of microorganism from a mixed population.

Common methods include:

Isolation Methods for Pure Cultures

Streak Plate Method:

  • Procedure: A sterile inoculating loop is used to spread a diluted sample over the surface of an agar plate in a series of streaks.

  • Purpose: To separate individual cells to form isolated colonies.

  • Advantage: Simple and effective for isolating bacteria from mixtures.

Pour Plate Method:

  • Procedure: A diluted microbial sample is mixed with molten agar and poured into a Petri dish. After solidification, colonies develop both on and within the agar.

  • Purpose: To isolate colonies from a mixed culture.

  • Advantage: Useful for counting colonies and isolating pure cultures.

Spread Plate Method:

  • Procedure: A diluted microbial sample is spread evenly across the surface of an agar plate using a sterile spreader.

  • Purpose: To obtain isolated colonies.

  • Advantage: Effective for quantifying and isolating microorganisms.

Serial Dilution Isolation Methods:

  • Procedure: The microbial sample is serially diluted in a series of dilution blanks, and aliquots from each dilution are plated.

  • Purpose: To reduce the number of organisms and obtain isolated colonies.

  • Advantage: Reduces the concentration of bacteria to isolate pure cultures.


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