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Sabouraud Agar and Other Fungal Growth Media

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Laboratory Protocols in Fungal Biology

Part of the book series: Fungal Biology ((FUNGBIO))

Abstract

Sabouraud agar is one of the oldest and most commonly used media for isolating and growing fungi. It selectively isolates fungi from environmental samples such as air and soil, maintains pure fungal cultures, and grows fungi to distinguish and identify different species, especially dermatophytes, by color and appearance. This article describes the history and theory behind the use of Sabouraud agar, the role of the ingredients in the medium, the preparation and use of the medium, and visual results in the growth as well as observations about the variation in names and ingredients that can prove a source of confusion.

The history, theory, and use of several other commonly used fungal growth, isolation, and differentiation media (Potato Dextrose Agar, Bird Seed Agar, and Dermatophyte Test Medium) are also are described. This includes an explanation of the role of each ingredient, the instructions for making these media, as well as variations upon the basic recipe, and in the various recipes commercially available.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Lalitpur, Nepal

    Tankeshwar Acharya

  2. Department of Biology & Chemistry, Morehead State University, Morehead, KY, USA

    Janelle Hare

Authors
  1. Tankeshwar Acharya
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  2. Janelle Hare
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Janelle Hare .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Safe and Improved Food & Biorefining and Advanced Materials Research Center, SRUC, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

    Vijai Kumar Gupta

  2. Department of Biochemistry, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland

    Maria Tuohy

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Acharya, T., Hare, J. (2022). Sabouraud Agar and Other Fungal Growth Media. In: Gupta, V.K., Tuohy, M. (eds) Laboratory Protocols in Fungal Biology. Fungal Biology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83749-5_2

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