Enrichment culture is the use of certain
growth media
A growth medium or culture medium is a solid, liquid, or semi-solid designed to support the growth of a population of microorganisms or cells via the process of cell proliferation or small plants like the moss ''Physcomitrella patens''. Different ...
to favor the growth of a particular
microorganism
A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...
over others, enriching a sample for the microorganism of interest. This is generally done by introducing nutrients or environmental conditions that only allow the growth of an organism of interest. Enrichment cultures are used to increase a small number of desired organisms to detectable levels. This allows for the detection and identification of microorganisms with a variety of nutritional needs. Enrichment cultures are often used for soil and fecal samples.
History
The microbiologist (and botanist)
Martinus Beijerinck
Martinus Willem Beijerinck (, 16 March 1851 – 1 January 1931) was a Dutch microbiologist and botanist who was one of the founders of virology and environmental microbiology. He is credited with the discovery of viruses, which he called "''c ...
is credited with developing the first enrichment cultures.
Sergei Winogradsky
Sergei Nikolaievich Winogradsky (or Vinohradsky; published under the name of Sergius Winogradsky or M. S. Winogradsky from Ukrainian Mykolayovych Serhiy; uk, Сергій Миколайович Виноградський; 1 September 1856 – ...
also experimented on bacteria using different cultures.
Examples
Media with a high salt concentration will select for
halophile
The halophiles, named after the Greek word for "salt-loving", are extremophiles that thrive in high salt concentrations. While most halophiles are classified into the domain Archaea, there are also bacterial halophiles and some eukaryotic species, ...
s.
Selenite broth Selenite broth is used as a selective medium for the isolation of '' Salmonella'' species. Selenite broth was originated by Leifson, while observing good recovery of Salmonella spp. and reduced
growth of fecal coliforms. Selenite broth is used as a ...
is used to selectively isolate
Salmonella
''Salmonella'' is a genus of rod-shaped (bacillus) Gram-negative bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The two species of ''Salmonella'' are ''Salmonella enterica'' and ''Salmonella bongori''. ''S. enterica'' is the type species and is fur ...
species. Alkaline Peptone Water is used for the cultivation of
vibrio
''Vibrio'' is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria, possessing a curved-rod (comma) shape, several species of which can cause foodborne infection, usually associated with eating undercooked seafood. Being highly salt tolerant and unable to survive ...
.
Both these examples are clinically relevant for clinical microbiology relating to stool samples.
See also
*
Microbiological culture
A microbiological culture, or microbial culture, is a method of multiplying microbial organisms by letting them reproduce in predetermined culture medium under controlled laboratory conditions. Microbial cultures are foundational and basic diagn ...
*
Auxanography
Auxanography is the study of the effects of changes in environment on the growth of microorganisms, by means of auxanograms. It was first devised by BeijerinckBeijerinck, M. W. 1889. L'auxanographie, ou la méthode de l'hydrodiffusion dans la ...
References
Microbiology
Martinus Beijerinck
Biology in the Netherlands
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