Colony morphology is a method that scientists use to describe the characteristics of an individual colony of bacteria growing on agar in a Petri dish. It can be used to help to identify them. A swab from a bin spread directly onto nutrient agar. Colonies differ in their shape, size, colour and texture.

1. Culture characteristic of bacteria
Archana Soni
Assistant Professor
Department of Biotechnology, SSMV, Bhilai

2. • Bacteria grow on solid media as colonies.
• A colony is defined as a visible mass of
microorganisms all originating from a single mother
cell.

3. Colony Morphology
• These characters used to accurately describe the morphology
of a bacterial colony:
-Size
-Shape
-Color (also known as pigmentation)
-Texture
-Height (elevation)
-Edge (margin)
• Key features of bacterial colonies are important criteria
for their identification.

4. COLONY CHARACTER ON AGAR PLATE

5. • Colony shape on agar plates

6. Rhizoid
Circular Pinpoint

7. • Margin of bacterial colony

8. Undulate filamentous

9. • Elevation of bacterial colony

10. Raised marginUmbonate

11. • Size of the bacterial colony
• Small
• Medium
• large

12. • Texture of bacterial colony
• Dry
• Moist
• Viscid (stick to loop)
• Mucoid (mucus-like)

13. • Colour of the colonies (pigmentation)
Some bacteria produce pigment when they grow in the
medium.

14. • Opacity of the bacterial colony
• Opaque (not clear)
• Translucent (clear)
• Iridescent(shine)

15. COLONY CHARACTER ON AGAR SLANT

16. • Growth on agar slants

17. beadedFiliform

18. GROWTH IN NUTRIENT BROTH

19. • Growth in nutrient broth

21. LAB EXERCISE
-Student will identify the growth patterns on the
nutrient agar plates and slants, and in the
nutrient broth tubes.