Evaluation of culture media to support growth of Paenibacillus larvae applied to studies of antimicrobial activity.

L.GENDE,; MARTIN JAVIER EGUARAS; R.FRITZ,

Revista Argentina de Microbiologia

Asociación Argentina de Microbiología

Año: 2008 vol. 40 p. 147 - 150

0325-7541

This study was conducted to compare different liquid culture media for Paenibacillus larvae growth in order to find the best one to be used in studies on activity of antimicrobial substances, such as essential oils. P. larvae presented poor growth in usual broths such as Mueller-Hinton, commonly employed in antimicrobial activity assays. Growth in liquid media was evaluated using Paenibacillus larvae strains isolated from hives located in different geographical zones. The MYT medium (Mueller Hinton broth, yeast extract and thiamine) was selected out of the eight liquid media analyzed, as it proved to be the most adequate due to its higher absorbance at 620 nm. The following mean values were obtained from the four P. larvae strains: 0.227 ± 0.016 for the Cobo strain, 0.279 ± 0.015 for La Plata strain, 0.758 ± 0.020 for Mechongué strain and 0.244 ± 0.0079 for Sierra de los Padres strain, respectively.