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How to passage bacteria ? - (Aug/22/2015 )

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Hi, I want to perform a plasmid stability test for a recombinant bacteria and hence have to passage the bacteria (for 30 generations).

 

For each generation, I will count the cfu on the antibiotic selective agar plate and compare with normal agar plate.

 

My question is, how do I passage bacteria in this case?

 

1. Pick a single colony from previous passage, grow in 5ml broth overnight, and take 100 ul to plate the bacteria.

 

2. Pick a single colony from previous passage, resuspend in 100 ul broth and plate the bacteria.

 

Which is better? 

 

Normally how do you do it?

 

-Meg P. Anula-

I am not sure what you mean with the second example.

Pick a single colony , resuspend in broth and then what? Plate right after ? Whats the point then?

Or you mean you will grow it in the broth first?

-pito-

Pito,

 

Second example I plate it right away and let it grow for another 48 hours, and do the same for next passage.

 

Isn't it more appropriate? For the first example if I picked a colony and grow on broth first,isn't it considered another passage.

 

I want to passage bacteria from plate to plate.

-Meg P. Anula-

picking a single "colony" and "diluting" it in broth is not really a good idea, I mean: its just 1 colony, not really a lot of cells to spread out....

 

Why do you not just restreak it every X days? From plate to plate? Its pretty much the same as your "broth" example.

-pito-

A typical colony, grown from a  single cell, is probably near 30 generations, probably more like 25. So, streaking out for single colonies once will do what you require.

-phage434-

I think he means with 30 generations literally 30 passages as in "30 times on a plate"

 

phage434 on Sun Aug 23 15:21:14 2015 said:

A typical colony, grown from a  single cell, is probably near 30 generations, probably more like 25. So, streaking out for single colonies once will do what you require.

 

-pito-

Well, that's (in my opinion) a very peculiar definition of a "generation."

-phage434-

phage434 on Sun Aug 23 19:53:45 2015 said:

Well, that's (in my opinion) a very peculiar definition of a "generation."

well... if its just about 1 time plating them out and thats it.. seems weird to as an experiment.

 

I think he just wants to keep plating them over a certain time period and see what the effect is...

(there is a famous experiment on this, where a professor is just replating E.coli over and over , every day.. for years to check for mutations. I can not remember the name at the moment...  I think he is trying to do something like that).

-pito-

Sorry for the incorrect use of the word "generation".

 

Yes, I am trying to grow it for 30 passages. 

 

I do not have microbiology background and I am confused in how to plate the bacteria from previous passage to next.

 

If I do not first resuspend the single colony in liquid form, will I be able to plate/spread it? I want to do a cfu counting for each passage.

-Meg P. Anula-

Meg P. Anula on Mon Aug 24 03:27:39 2015 said:

Sorry for the incorrect use of the word "generation".

 

Yes, I am trying to grow it for 30 passages. 

 

I do not have microbiology background and I am confused in how to plate the bacteria from previous passage to next.

 

If I do not first resuspend the single colony in liquid form, will I be able to plate/spread it? I want to do a cfu counting for each passage.

If you want to do a CFU then you can not just restreak it.

 

you will have to dilute it in liquid. But just taking 1 colony and diluting that in some H2O ... to me it seems a bit weird

 

I think you will have to introduce a growth stage in between in liquid. So growth in liquid, spin down, plate and count CFUs.. but it seems a bit odd to do this as an experiment.

-pito-
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