Bacterial lawn

Bacterial Lawn

A Bacterial Lawn (pronunciation: /bækˈtɪərɪəl lɔːn/) is a uniform layer of bacteria that is grown on the agar surface in a Petri dish. It is commonly used in microbiology for various experimental purposes.

Etymology

The term "Bacterial Lawn" is derived from the visual similarity between a field of bacteria on a petri dish and a lawn of grass. The term was first used in microbiology in the mid-20th century.

Usage

Bacterial lawns are used in a variety of microbiological experiments. They are often used in the process of bacteriophage typing, where different types of bacteriophages are used to infect the bacterial lawn. The resulting clear areas, known as plaques, can be counted to determine the concentration of bacteriophages.

Bacterial lawns are also used in antibiotic sensitivity testing. In this process, discs impregnated with different antibiotics are placed on the bacterial lawn. The antibiotics diffuse out into the agar and inhibit the growth of the bacteria, creating clear zones known as zones of inhibition. The size of these zones can be measured to determine the sensitivity of the bacteria to the different antibiotics.