Is EMB agar selective or differential?
Understand the Problem
The question is asking whether EMB agar (Eosin Methylene Blue agar) is selective in nature or serves as a differential medium. This indicates a need to understand the characteristics and uses of EMB agar in microbiology.
Answer
Both selective and differential.
The final answer is that EMB agar is both selective and differential.
Answer for screen readers
The final answer is that EMB agar is both selective and differential.
More Information
EMB agar inhibits the growth of Gram-positive bacteria while allowing Gram-negative bacteria to grow, and it differentiates between lactose fermenters and non-fermenters.
Tips
Confusing selective and differential media functions; Selective media inhibit or promote the growth of certain bacteria, while differential media differentiate between different bacterial species based on their biological characteristics.
Sources
- Eosin-methylene blue - Wikipedia - en.wikipedia.org
- 1.28: EMB Agar - Biology LibreTexts - bio.libretexts.org
- Eosin Methylene Blue - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics - sciencedirect.com
