Bordet–Gengou agar explained

Bordet–Gengou agar is a type of agar plate optimized to isolate Bordetella, containing blood, potato extract, and glycerol, with an antibiotic such as cephalexin or penicillin and sometimes nicotinamide.^[1] The potato extract provided nitrogen and vitamins, and potato starch absorbed fatty acids present in nasal secretions or collection-swab cotton that inhibited growth; glycerol was a carbon source.^[2] Medical Microbiology, 4th edition,^[1] states that Regan-Lowe medium^[2] (containing charcoal, blood, and antibiotic) has replaced Bordet–Gengou medium as the medium of choice for routine Bordetella pertussis incubation.

Bordetella bacteria were difficult to culture; Jules Bordet and Octave Gengou invented the first version to isolate the coccobacillus, named Bordet–Gengou in 1906, they believed was associated with whooping cough. In 1909, it was not yet established that the coccobacillus was solely the cause.^[3]

References

• Kurzynski TA, Boehm DM, Rott-Petri JA, Schell RF, Allison PE . Comparison of modified Bordet–Gengou and modified Regan-Lowe media for the isolation of Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella parapertussis . J. Clin. Microbiol. . 26 . 12 . 2661–3 . December 1988 . 10.1128/jcm.26.12.2661-2663.1988 . 2906642 . 266968 .

Notes and References

1. Book: Medical Microbiology . 4th . Samuel Baron . Bordetella . Horst Finger . Carl Heinz Wirsing von Koenig . amp . University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston . 1996 . 0-9631172-1-1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bookshelf/br.fcgi?book=mmed&part=A1712.
2. http://www.bd.com/europe/regulatory/Assets/IFU/HB/CE/PA/PA-254400.pdf BD Bordet Gengou Agar with 15% Sheep Blood (product insert also describing Bordetella Agar with Charcoal)
3. The Journal of Experimental Medicine . . The Bordet-Gengou Bacillus of Pertussis . January 9, 1909. 11 . 1 . 41–54 . 10.1084/jem.11.1.41 . 2124697 . 19867243.