Bordet–Gengou agar

Bordet–Gengou agar is a type of agar plate optimized to isolate Bordetella, containing blood, potato extract, and glycerol, with an antibiotic such as cephalexin or penicillin and sometimes nicotinamide.[1] The potato extract provided nitrogen and vitamins, and potato starch absorbed fatty acids present in nasal secretions or collection-swab cotton that inhibited growth; glycerol was a carbon source.[2] Medical Microbiology, 4th edition,[1] states that Regan-Lowe medium[2] (containing charcoal, blood, and antibiotic) has replaced Bordet–Gengou medium as the medium of choice for routine Bordetella pertussis incubation.

Bordetella bacteria were difficult to culture; Jules Bordet and Octave Gengou invented the first version to isolate the coccobacillus, named Bordet–Gengou in 1906, they believed was associated with whooping cough. In 1909, it was not yet established that the coccobacillus was solely the cause.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b Horst Finger & Carl Heinz Wirsing von Koenig (1996). "Bordetella". In Samuel Baron (ed.). Medical Microbiology (4th ed.). University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. ISBN 0-9631172-1-1.
  2. ^ a b BD Bordet Gengou Agar with 15% Sheep Blood (product insert also describing Bordetella Agar with Charcoal)
  3. ^ Martha Wollstein (January 9, 1909). "The Bordet-Gengou Bacillus of Pertussis". The Journal of Experimental Medicine. 11 (1): 41–54. doi:10.1084/jem.11.1.41. PMC 2124697. PMID 19867243.