COLONY CHARACTERISTICS
Staphylococcus aureus
Staphylococcus epidermidis
Staphylococcus saprophyticus
Streptococcus pyogenes
Streptococcus viridans
Streptococcus pneumoniae
Neisseria gonnorhoeae
Neisseria meningitides
Moraxella (Branhamella) catarrhalis
Pasteurella multocida
Francisella tularensis
Bordetella pertussis
Bordetella parapertussis
Brucella
Haemophilus influenzae
Bacillus anthracis
Corynebacterium diphtheriae
Listeria monocytogenes
Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae
Bacteroides fragilis
Bacteroides corrodens
Prevotella
Porphyromonas
Opaque, circular, smooth, entire w/ butyrous consistency. It
has a golden yellow pigment soluble in alcohol & ether & is
classed as lipochrome
Circular, smooth & usually w/ a pale translucent white
colonies
Similar to S. epidermidis
White to gray, opaque, dry w/ a clear zone of hemolysis
Small, opaque w/ narrow zone of hemolysis w/ or w/o
greening depending on blood used
Round & glistening w/ entire edges, transparent & mucoid.
Young colonies are dome shaped but on aging become
flattened w/ a raised margin & depressed central portion or
give the appearance of a checker or nail head
Small, translucent, raised, moist, grayish white w/ entire to
lobate margins. It tends to come off as a whole when picked
from the agar surface
Similar to Neisseria gonorrhoeae
Grayish white friable colonies, granular & difficult to
emulsify
Small, nonhemolytic, translucent colonies w/ a characteristic
musty odor
On blood cystine glucose agar, colonies are minute,
transparent, droplike mucoid & readily emulsify
On Bordet Gengou medium, colonies have pearl-like luster
(resembling mercury droplets)
Produces brown pigment on Bordet Gengou medium
Small, convex, smooth, translucent w/c becomes brownish w/
age
“Satellite phenomenon” – colonies are large when they are
growing near colonies of organism capable of synthesizing V
factor. Growth on chocolate agar is colorless w/ a distinct
“mousy odor”. On Fildes enrichment medium, colonies are
translucent & bluish
Large, opaque, raised & irregular w/ a curled margin. Comma
shaped outgrowths are common (resembling medusa head)
Gray to black colonies on potassium tellurite medium
On McBride medium – blue green in color
“Test tube brush” type of growth characteristically occurs
in gelatin stab cultures
White to gray, nonhemolytic colony, translucent, glistening
on BBE w/ dark precipitate (stippling) around the areas of
heavy growth
Small, translucent, nonhemolytic colony that is depressed in
the agar or “pits” the agar around the colony
Produce protoporphyrin, a dark pigment that causes their
colonies to become brown to black w/ age
Dark brown to black pigment, protoheme when grown for 6
to 10 days on BAP
Fusobacterium mortiferum
Fusobacterium nucleatum
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Mycobacterium bovis
Streptobacillus moniliformis
Mycoplasma pneumoniae
Chromobacterium violaceum
Escherichia coli
Enterobacter
Klebsiella pneumoniae
Serratia marcescens
Proteus
Salmonella typhi
Shigella
Vibrio cholerae
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Pseudomonas mallei
Pseudomonas pseudomallei
Acinetobacter calcoaceticus
Moraxella lacunata
Flavobacterium
Eikenella corrodens
Clostridium perfringens
Clostridium tetani
Yersinia enterocolitica
“Fried egg” appearance on BAP
Colonies w/ flaked internal structure or bread crumbs
colonies
On egg media, they appear as small, dry, friable colonies that
are rough, warty, granular & buff in color. Typical colonies
have a flat margin and a “cauliflower” center
Tiny, translucent, smooth & pyramidal colonies – growth is
termed dysgonic
Grows in the form of “fluff balls” or “bread crumbs” near
the bottom of the tube or on the surface of the sedimented
red cells if blood is cultured
“Fried egg” appearance
Violet colored colonies & in broth, a violet ring is produced
at the junction of the broth surface & the test tube wall
Greenish metallic sheen on EMB medium
Have a distinct blue “fish-eye” appearance on EMB mediun
Large mucoid colonies & usually strings out when touched w/
a needle
Red pigmented colonies
“Swarming” growth
Black colonies on BSA
Small, colorless, translucent colonies
On TCBS agar, appear as medium sized, smooth, convex,
yellow colonies w/ opaque centers & transparent periphery
Blue green color & a characteristic grape-like odor
Colonies on infusion agar (especially when glycerol is added)
appear as grayish white & translucent, later becoming
yellowish & opaque
Colonies are wrinkled & on prolonged incubation become
umbonate in character on BAP
On Seller’s medium, produces a characteristic reaction –
blue slant, yellow band green butt
Causes pitting or lacunae on the surface of Leoffler’s slant
On MacConkey or Blood agar, colonies are lavender green in
color due to extensive proteolytic enzymatic activity
Colonies are small to tiny & frequently are situated in shallow
craters in the agar. An odor similar to hypochlorite bleach is
produced
Produces double zones of hemolysis on BA & produces a
precipitate on EYA
Spreading translucent, filamentous w/ single hemolysis
Red “bulls-eye” colonies on CIN surrounded by a colorless
halo