Laboratory Identification of Enteric Bacteria:
Escherichia, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Serratia,
Citrobacter, Proteus, Pseudomonas & Salmonella
These genera and their species can be identified using both biochemical and
seological testing. One popular manual method for identification of the
Enterobacteriacae is the API strip shown below. The cupules in a
sterile strip are inoculated with a bacterial suspension prepared from an
isolated culture. Results are read after 24 hours growth in a 5% CO2
environment. Several cupules require an overlay with sterile mineral oil. Several cupules
require the addition of reagents to detect bacterial metabolic products. The two Enterobacteriacae tested in the strips above are very different in terms
of their metabolic activity.
The Enterotube system (BD) is another minaturized system for identification of enteric organisms. It is easier to use because isolated bacteria are streaked across contained compartments onto solid agars.
The reactions can be read in 18-24 hours and are compared to a database of bacterial identification results for probability of match.
Go to Microbiology Homepage.
Go to Homepage for IUSM-Terre Haute.
Go to IU School of Medicine Homepage.
Author: Mary T. Johnson, Ph.D. Copyright 1999-2008.
Last modified January 9, 2008
