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Culture Documents
• Negative Results:
No color change in the medium is a negative
result (S. epidermidis)
E.coli S.epidermidis
(No growth) (growth, red)
Eosin Methylene Blue Agar (EMB)
• Eosin methylene blue agar is a Typically used for the family
selective and differential Enterobacteriaceae—
medium enteric (gut) bacteria (Gram-
• Selective: EMB contains rods)
the dyes methylene blue
and eosin which inhibit They may be divided into
Gram + bacteria, thus those that produce acid from
favoring growth of Gram – lactose fermentation
(coliforms) and those that do
• Differential: EMB contains not
lactose, thus allowing for
the distinction between Coliforms include
lactose fermenters and Escherichia coli and
nonferments
Enterobacter aerogenes
Results
• Large amounts of acid from lactose
fermentation cause the dyes to
precipitate on the colony surface,
producing a black center or a “green
metallic sheen” (E. coli)
P. vulgaris S. aureus
no color)
E.coli
E. aerogenes
black colonies or green black colonies or
metallic sheen green metallic sheen
MacConkey Agar
(MAC)
• A selective and
differential medium • Bile salts and crystal
violet inhibit growth of
used to isolate G+ organisms
members of the (selective)
Enterobacteriaceae
• Neutral red is a pH
indicator that is
• Contains nutrients, colorless, but yellow
including lactose, as above pH 8 and red at
well as bile salts, pH less than 6.8
neutral red and (differential)
crystal violet
• Acid accumulating from lactose fermentation
turns the colorless neutral red to a red color—
therefore coliforms produce a red “halo” on the
medium (E.coli, E.aerogenes)
• No growth indicates a
Gram + organism
(S.aureus)