Chromogenic Agar Media in the Clinical, Food, and Environmental Testing Arenas, Part I

Chromogenic agar media have become useful tools in the laboratory for the rapid recovery and identification of specific microbial species or the isolation of bacteria that can be identified at the genus level. A wide variety of chromogenic media are currently available and target the pathogenic microorganisms that are important in both clinical and environmental testing laboratories. The greatest utility of chromogenic agar in the clinical microbiology laboratory revolves about the recovery of methicillin-resistant Staphylcoccus aureus and gram-negative urinary pathogens. The greatest utility of the chromogenic agar in the environmental laboratory revolves about the recovery of gram-negative pathogens, such as Escherichia coli O157 and Salmonella spp. from water, foods, and the environment. In Part I of this two-part article, the development of chromogenic agar medium and its practical utility for the detection and identification of Candida spp. and the Enterobacteriaceae are discussed.