What type of luminescent bacteria will grow on LB plates?

Answer 1

You should rather ask how one can obtain a sample. For the most part luminous bacteria reside in the oceans of the world, and the most common species of luminous bacteria is Vibrio and Photobacterium. These guys live on the skins, intestines and meat of marine animals all over, and can be incubated by placing a marine fish in a cold room for several days, and then streaking the luminous patches that develop onto a marine based agar plate.

Only one terrestrial luminous family of bacteria have so far been identified and is known as Photorhabdus.

Members of the Photorhabdus are mostly insect pathogens that exist in a complex symbiotic relationship with a family of entomopathogenic nematodes (2, 3). Photorhabdus bacteria, carried by nematodes that invade insect larvae are released into the insect hemolymph, where they rapidly grow and kill the insect host. The dead insect subsequently serves as a source of nutrients for nematode reproduction. The bacteria produce pigments that turn the insect carcass a red-orange color, antibiotics that inhibit the growth of other microbes, and light that causes the carcasses to become luminous. The strain may be isolated by means of collection and centrifuge. Incubate the bacteria over night in PBS and streak onto agar medium.

Answer 2

LB (Luria-Bertani) agar plates are not selective for any specific type of bacteria. They are a general-purpose growth medium that supports the growth of many different types of bacteria. Therefore, any luminescent bacteria that are present in the sample being plated could potentially grow on LB plates.