Enrichment culture is the use of certain growth media 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 old ...

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 "'' ...

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 halophiles.

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 ...

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.

References

Microbiology Martinus Beijerinck Biology in the Netherlands {{Microbiology-stub

History

Examples

See also

References