PJB-2006-85
MANIPULATION OF DIFFERENT MEDIA AND METHODS FOR COST-EFFECTIVE CHARACTERIZATION OF ESCHERICHIA COLI STRAINS COLLECTED FROM DIFFERENT HABITATS
RUBINA ARSHAD, SHAFQAT FAROOQ AND SAYYED SHAHID ALI**
Abstract
Rapid and reliable identification of about 400 isolates of Escherichia coli collected from soil, water, plants and animal faeces was made by membrane filtration (MF), culture media and biochemical methods. Utilization of three types of selective and differential agar media (MacConkey, Eosin Methylene Blue: EBM and Endo agar) rather than one increased the chances of successful isolation/identification. The identified bacteria were re-confirmed through the use of biochemical (IMViC) tests, and diagnostic kits made for this purpose. The results obtained after comparative studies indicated that isolation media and methods used in the present study are not only simple and reliable for large-scale bacterial identification but at the same time are more cost-effective compared to commercially available diagnostic kits. It is anticipated that by using such methods, isolation and identification of E. coli can be done effectively without importing expensive diagnostic kits, which is most often difficult especially in the developing countries and thus becomes limiting factor for microbiological investigations.
To Cite this article:
Download
