In preparation for freezing, grow the bacterial strain under optimal conditions in an appropriate medium as to retain the salient features of the strain. Bacterial strains should be grown to late log phase. When freezing bacteria, add 5 to 10% glycerol or DMSO in culture medium.

In the real world outside the laboratory, bacteria grow in communities made of many bacterial species. If you need to identify the types of bacteria present in environmental or medical samples, you must have a way to separate out the different types and produce pure cultures.

5 ways to grow bacteria, prepare cultures and petri dishes. Also learn about antibacterial agents, how bacteria can help/harm and more. Read HST's blog now!

The ability to grow microbes is an essential step in being able to utilize their power, identify harmful culprits and advance our understanding and capabilities. In this article, we consider what bacterial culture is, factors affecting culture conditions, common problems and some of the numerous applications.