It depends on the type of blood agar you are using.
Blood agar generallly means whatever agar you are using + 5-10% of some type of mammalian blood (sheep, horse, rabbit, etc).
I generally use TSA + 5% Sheep blood or Brucella Agar + 5% Horse blood, for instance.
trypticase soy agar (TSA) mixed with sheep blood (blood agar)
its one of the most used agar types for identifying bacteria, because most bacteria can grow on it,
a few examples are Bacillus and Stahpylococcus
(known for food poisoning)
the agar also alows you to see if the bacteria does hemolysis on blood
Blood agar is a solid growth medium that contains red blood cells. The medium is used to detect bacteria that produce enzymes to break apart the blood cells. This process is also termed hemolysis. The degree to which the blood cells are hemolyzed is used to distinguish bacteria from one another.
The blood agar medium is prepared in a two-step process. First, a number of ingredients are added to water, including heart infusion, peptone, and sodium chloride. This solution is sterilized. Following sterilization, a known amount of sterile blood is added. The blood can be from rabbit or sheep. Rabbit blood is preferred if the target bacterium is from the group known as group A Streptococcus. Sheep blood is preferred if the target bacterium is Haemophilus parahaemolyticus.
Blood agar is a rich food source for bacteria. So, it can be used for primary culturing, that is, as a means of obtaining as wide a range of bacterial growth from a sample as possible. It is typically not used for this purpose, however, due to the expense of the medium. Other, less expensive agars will do the same thing. What blood agar is uniquely suited for is the determination of hemolysis.
Hemolysis is the break down of the membrane of red blood cells by a bacterial protein known as hemolysin, which causes the release of hemoglobin from the red blood cell. Many types of bacterial posses hemolytic proteins. These proteins are thought to act by integrating into the membrane of the red blood cell and either punching a hole through the membrane or disrupting the structure of the membrane in some other way. The exact molecular details of hemolysin action is still unresolved.
The blood used in the agar is also treated beforehand to remove a molecule called fibrin, which participates in the clotting of blood. The absence of fibrin ensures that clotting of the blood does not occur in the agar, which could interfere with the visual detection of the hemolytic reactions.
1. Defibrinated or anticoagulated blood.
2. Agar
Hope this helps! It was in my microbiology lab book so I bet it's right :)
beef extract (3.0g) soluble starch (10.0) agar (12.0) distilled water (1,000.0 ml)
A nutrient media, agar, and 5-10% blood
5-10% sheep or horse blood
Agar is generally made by mixing the powdered form with varying ingredients. The powder is based on seaweed extract for nutrient agar, and nutrient agar is generally a base for most other agars - eg. Horse Blood Agar is nutrient agar with horses blood added; Choc agar has defibrinated (cooked) horses blood added.
Blood Agar, and trypticase soy agar grows semi fastidious
sheep blood agarchocolate agar
sabourauds agar contains the following : peptone : 1 g glucose : 4 g agar :3 g d/w : 100ml PH : 5.4
Streak stab is most commonly used when inoculating blood agar with hemolytic bacteria. The stabs expose the bacteria to a greater surface area of blood cells and will enhance the hemolysis effect.
Agar is generally made by mixing the powdered form with varying ingredients. The powder is based on seaweed extract for nutrient agar, and nutrient agar is generally a base for most other agars - eg. Horse Blood Agar is nutrient agar with horses blood added; Choc agar has defibrinated (cooked) horses blood added.
No it does not pit blood agar I am curently studying Chromobcaterium violaceum and recently grew it on a sheep blood agar it did not pit it. Cv turned the agar a brown color.
Blood Agar, and trypticase soy agar grows semi fastidious
By stabbing the blood agar, the hemolysis will be easier to see and identify.
blood and chocolate agar plates as well as in universities laboratory Nutrient agar plates are also provided
Sheeps blood
sheep blood agarchocolate agar
bacteria
sabourauds agar contains the following : peptone : 1 g glucose : 4 g agar :3 g d/w : 100ml PH : 5.4
You can't sterilize blood as it would hemolize. Blood is sterilized aseptically when it is purchased-meaning the animal (lets say a sheep) is killed in a certain way to ensure this happens. So the blood in your blood agar plate has already been aseptically sterilized
No, blood agar does not support viral cultivation. Blood agar is primarily used for culturing bacteria, as it contains nutrients that promote bacterial growth. Viruses require living host cells to replicate, so they cannot be cultured on standard agar media like blood agar.
Yes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa can grow on blood agar, but it may not show the typical hemolysis patterns like other bacteria. It usually appears as flat, greenish colonies on blood agar plates.