An inexpensive solid medium for obtaining colony-forming units of oral spirochetes |
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Authors: | E. C. S. Chan A. De Ciccio R. McLaughlin A. Klltorlnos R. Slboo |
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Affiliation: | Faculty of Dentistry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada;Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
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Abstract: | A method for the enumeration of colony-forming units of oral anaerobic spirochetes in new oral spirochete agarose (NOS-A) medium was described recently. However, the high cost of agarose limits the extent to which large assays can be carried out. Accordingly, a search for an inexpensive gelling agent that remains molten at 37°C and gels at 25°C was undertaken. Varying amounts of Noble agar or Bacto agar (0.5 to 1.5%, w/v) were mixed with varying amounts of gelatin (0.5 to 1.0%, w/v) in NOS medium. NOS medium containing 0.5% gelatin-0.5% Noble agar (NOS-GN) or 0.5% gelatin-0.5% Bacto agar (NOS-GB) met the above criteria. NOS-GN and NOS-GB media yielded higher colony-forming units with Treponema denticola than NOS-A medium in that order. However, all three media, NOS-GN, NOS-GB and NOS-A, performed equally well in the recovery of viable counts of T. vincentii. The NOS-GN medium was not liquefied by subgingival bacteria or two gelatinase-producing species of bacteria, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus. Thus NOS-GN medium is the recommended medium both in cost and performance for obtaining colony counts of spirochetes. |
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Keywords: | oral spirochete colony-forming unit inexpensive solid medium |
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