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CATACATA

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18 views3 pages

CATACATA

Uploaded by

s.catacata.keziah
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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1

CATACATA, KEZIAH C.
BSN1C
VMC 40 LABORATORY

Exercise 4
POUR-PLATE AND STREAK-PLATE
TECHNIQUES FOR ISOLATING PURE
CULTURES

After completing this exercise you should:

1. Be able to isolate individual colonies from mixed cultures by means of the


streak-and-pour-plate techniques;
2. Recognize the respective advantages and disadvantages of the streak and
pour-plate techniques.

Certain procedures have become indispensable for bacteriologists. Among them are
the standard pour-and-streak-plate techniques. These methods can be effective in both
detection and enumeration of different microorganisms present in typical specimens used
for study.

The forerunner of the present pour-plate method was developed in the laboratory of
the famous bacteriologist Robert Koch. Today this technique consists of (1) cooling
melted agar-containing medium (1.5 percent agar) to approximately 42° to 45°C, and (2)
inoculating the medium with a specimen just prior to pouring into a sterile petri plate.
Thus, bacteria are distributed throughout the agar and trapped in position as the medium
hardens. Although the solidification medium restricts bacterial movement from one area
to another, it is of a soft enough consistency to permit growth. Growth occurs both on the
surface and in the depths of the inoculated medium. Unfortunately, there are several
disadvantages to this technique. These include the following: (1) colonies of several
species may present a similar appearance in the agar environment; (2) certain species of
bacteria may not grow in this environment; and (3) difficulty may be encountered in
removing (picking) colonies for further study.

The streak-plate procedure is another example of a technique. It was originally


developed by two bacteriologists. Loeffler and Gaffky, in the laboratory of Robert Koch.
The modern method for the preparation of a streak plate involves the spreading of a
single loopful of material containing microorganisms over the surface of an agar medium
that has been allowed to solidify.
2

A. POUR-PLATE TECHNIQUE

RESULTS

Sketch the appearance of your plate after incubation. Note for both surface and deep
colonies.

OBSERVATION:

- The majority of colonies are found in the medium and are tiny in size, and are
confluent. The small colonies that form on the surface are the same size and
shape like those that grow on t-he streak plate.
3

B. STREAK-PLATE TECHNIQUE

RESULTS

Examine your streak plate and look for well isolated colonies. Sketch the
appearance of your plate after incubation.

OBSERVATION:

In this technique, a loopful of culture is spread on an agar plate which gets


individual cells far apart enough from each other. The streaking method
gradually diluted the inoculum such that the bacterial cells are counted as
colony-forming units. It obtained well-spaced colonies.

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