Agar media for bacteria culture

Agar is a polysaccharide derived from red seaweed (Rhodophyceae) and is used as solidifying agent for culture media in petri plates, slants, and deeps. Used in concentration of 2–3%. It melts at 98°C and solidifies at 42°C.

It is preferred for culture the bacteria because it is an inert, non-nutritive substance. The agar provides a solid growth surface for the bacteria, upon which bacteria reproduce until the bacterial colonies are form. Colony is a visible growth of microbes on the surface of a solid medium. It is a population of cells arising from a single cell or spore or from a group of attached cells.

These colonies can be used to help identify the organism, purify the strain free of contaminants and produce a pure genetic clone.

Type of agar used in microbiology:
Nutrient Agar
Blood Agar
Chocolate Agar or Heated Blood agar
MacConkey Agar
Mueller Hinton Agar
Tellurite Blood Agar
Agar media for bacteria culture