Comparison of two selective media for the detection and enumeration of Lactobacilli in XXXX faeces.

@entity1 @entity9206 @entity24046
The enumeration of faecal bacteria is an important requirement for many studies of bowel health. One approach is the use of selective culture media for the culture and identification of genera or species from faeces. This study compares the culture of Lactobacilli from dilution series of faecal samples from six healthy @entity1 volunteers on two commonly used media, LAMVAB and Rogosa agar. Colonies were counted after a 72-h anaerobic incubation at 37 degrees C, and colony morphology recorded by a single observer. DNA was isolated from a representative number of colonies and genus-specific PCR, single-stranded conformation polymorphism (SSCP) and DNA sequencing performed. Total colony counts ranged from <3.00 to 7.48 log(10) cfu/g of faeces for LAMVAB and 5.09 to 7.66 log(10) cfu/g for Rogosa. For each subject, the total colony count was higher on Rogosa than that obtained with LAMVAB agar. SSCP analysis and DNA sequencing indicated that colony morphology was not an accurate predictor of genus identity. Growth of two species, @entity9206 and @entity24046 , was not supported on LAMVAB medium. Rogosa agar was more likely to support growth of non- @entity24046 species. Therefore, neither medium gave a fully accurate representation of the Lactobacilli species present in @entity1 faecal samples.
