Question

Your supervisor asks you to set up a pure culture of a bacterial species he is researching. He tells you that this species is a fastidious, halophilic, gram-positive mesophile that does not have catalase or superoxide dismutase. What type of culture medium and environmental factors must you use to grow this organism?

Answer 1

This bacterial species needs to be grown in a nutrient agar of high salt (NaCl) concentration. It needs to be incubated at moderate temperature of between 20°C and 45°C. This species needs to be kept in an oxygen free environment, a sealed jar containing an oxygen- free gas mixture.

Step-by-step explanation:

• Fastidious: indicates that the bacterial species requires special nutrients and specific environmental conditions to grow.
• Halophilic: refers to "salt- loving" bacteria, who thrive in conditions with high salt concentrations.
• Gram -positive: indicates that the bacterium tested positive in the Gram stain test.
• Mesophile: indicates that the optimum temperature fro the bacteria to grow in is between 20°C and 45°C.
• This species does not have catalase or superoxide dismutase which indicates that this is an obligate anaerobe because both of these enzymes are required for aerobic respiration. This species cannot be exposed to oxygen.