Buffered charcoal yeast extract agar

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Buffered charcoal yeast extract (BCYE) agar is a selective growth medium used to culture or grow certain types of bacteria, particularly the Gram-negative species Legionella pneumophila.[1] It has also been used for the laboratory diagnosis of Acanthamoeba keratitis,[2] Francisella and Nocardia.

Composition of BCYE agar medium[3]
Ingredient Amount (g/L) Purpose
Agar 12.0 Solidifying
Yeast extract 10.0 Vitamins, nitrogen, and carbon
ACES buffer 10.0 Buffer
Activated charcoal 2.0 Decomposes hydrogen peroxide, a toxic metabolite of Legionella
Potassium hydroxide 2.8 pH (target shall be 6.9±0.2)
Alpha-ketoglutarate 1.0 Stimulates oxygen-scavenging enzymes in Legionella
L-cysteine 0.4 Provide absolutely essential nutrients to Legionella
Ferric pyrophosphate 0.2

This culture is to be differentiated from regular yeast extract agar, which is not selective.

References[]

  1. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-06-12. Retrieved 2012-05-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ Penland RL, Wilhelmus KR (October 1998). "Laboratory diagnosis of Acanthamoeba keratitis using buffered charcoal-yeast extract agar". Am. J. Ophthalmol. 126 (4): 590–2. doi:10.1016/S0002-9394(98)00125-1. PMID 9780107.
  3. ^ Aryal, Sagar (4 January 2022). "BCYE Agar- Composition, Principle, Preparation, Results, Uses". Microbe Notes.
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